Prophecy of the Sisters
by Ecks88
Summary: This is the next girl after Alanna, Daine, Kel, and Aly. Takes place during the rule of Roald and Shinko. There is a prophecy that 5 sisters born human with immortal blood will save the world from darkness. The Heroine of this story is Tye, a middle class
1. Becoming a page

Rating – T

Disclaimer- Tortall and all the characters, besides the ones I create, are property of Tamora Pierce.

Author's note: Ok this is the first story I have written on this site. Kinda an idea that just hit me one day and I've been building on it since, hope it turns out ok.

Background: This is the next girl after Alanna, Daine, Kel, and Aly. Takes place during the rule of Roald (Jonathan's son) and Shinkokami a.k.a Shinko, with their children training to become knights.

Chapter 1 – Becoming a page

_Earth, Wind, Water, Fire_

_Come together in this dire hour_

_Bring forth the power locked within_

_So the world's salvation will begin_

_To balance the power a fifth sister there shall be_

_To bring the darkness to its knees_

_Hidden from view, yet visible to all_

_Along with the sisters, she will cause the darkness to fall_

For years the position as training master had been passed around to several lords. It seemed that no one could quite match the skills of Lord Wyldon. This year the position had been appointed to Lord Marcase, a man in his thirties with several years of knighthood under his belt. He was a strict man, but fair, which made him the perfect person to train the soon to be knights while the realm was still adjusting to law that allowed girls to join and try for their knighthood. He had already begun to make changes to the system. A new area had been provided in the castle to house the female pages, so that the boys and girls were separated. New teachers had been brought in for training in different styles of fighting that would best fit each pages abilities. The other lords were very much looking forward to seeing how this year went and if there would be any improvements, since the quality of the knights had been slowly decreasing, with fewer succeeding since Wlydon had left.

Marcase sat in his office now awaiting the last of the upcoming pages. A scribe sat next to him at another desk ready to take notes. Each page was required to have a meeting with Marcase himself before becoming a page so he could evaluate each one. The scribe next to him would take notes while they spoke and he would read over them later. The door slowly opened and he looked up to see an older man walk into the room followed by a young girl. The man was grey and balding already, he was in his fifties at least with loose fitting clothing that showed no wealth. The girl had long black hair, the darkest he had ever seen, with bright green eyes. He skin was pale without a single freckle, which contrasted greatly with her bright red lips. Both sat down before him.

"Hello." The older man greeted. "I am Hale Grimsped and this is Tye." Marcase nodded hello.

"I am Lord Marcase the training master this year. Before becoming a page I will have to ask you two a few questions." He told them looking over to the scribe to let him know to begin.

"Oh yes of course."

"Now first off, why do you want your daughter to become a knight?"

"Well it was really Tye's idea. We are moving to live with my wife's mother who is sick, and well it will be crowded with another person in her small house. Also Tye loves to train. So we concluded that this would be the best thing to do." Hale said and smiled to the younger girl. Marcase nodded and looked down at the paper in front of him for the next question.

"What sort of training has your daughter received previously?"

"We didn't really have too many people who knew sword fighting or archery in our small village, but she learned a few things from them and also from travelers who passed through and stayed at our inn."

"Anything she is especially good at?" Hale thought a moment.

"She did become rather good at archery." He admitted finally.

Marcase looked to Tye who had been quiet this whole time.

"You understand that this won't be easy? You will train and study every day, be pushed to you limits and even further." He told her. Sometimes people underestimated how much work training to be a knight actually was. There are a few cases every year of pages dropping out and going home because it is too much they can handle.

"Yes sir." She told him directly, voice unflinching.

"Very well then, say your goodbyes outside of this room and bring your things to the head maid, Miss Sanders, she will show you to your rooms and give you your keys. Then you will go to the tailor to get sized for your uniforms." Turning back to his papers, Hale and Tye took this as being dismissed and got up from their seats and left the room. Once the door was closed they turned to each other. The hallways were empty and silent and neither one spoke for a moment.

"Thank you Hale for doing this for me, I know it was a long way out of the way for you." He smiled down at the young girl.

"It was no problem Tye. Good luck." He said and turned around to leave.

She picked up her two bags, she did not have very much, and turned to walk towards the head maid's room, she had been told earlier where this was by the person who led her to Lord Marcase's office.

_This is the beginning then. _She thought to herself as she knocked on the door.

>

Ok well thats it for the first chapter, ill get more up as soon as i can, probably tomarrow. We will start meeting the other pages in the next chaper. review and tell me what you think if you get a chance. Thanks!


	2. The Sponsor

Ok here goes on chapter 2. Thanks to the people who reviewed my story, you gave me plenty of new ideas!

Ok I got a list of children from a friend of mine since I couldn't remember them all.

Jon had 5 kids:

Roald2 yearsKalasin2 years Liam1 year Lianne1 year Jasson

Daine had 2 kids:

Sarralyn and Rikash who are a year apart.

Miss Sanders was an overall pleasant woman. She wore loose dresses with an apron, which were always clean no matter how messy a job she had to do. Her face was pudgy with rosy cheeks and short cropped curls that circled her face which seemed to always carry a smile. Her eyes where a bright blue that twinkled merrily whenever she spoke with someone. Tye followed the woman as she bustled down the hall humming a small tune.

"Alright this one is yours!" Miss Sanders exclaimed. "Now here is your key, make sure not to lose it."

"Thank you Ma'am." Tye said as she took the key.

"Oh no need for that! Call me Miss Sanders. Now if you need anything at all you know my room is not far away, I'll be free anytime you need me." She grinned widely and left Tye at her new home.

Taking a breath, she slipped the key into the hole and turned. The door swung open silently and Tye set her two bags down as she closed the door behind her. The room was small, but she did not need much space. The first thing she did was to put all of her things away, she for one hated staying in a messy place. You could loose too many things and she valued all she had. Next she sat on the bed and tested the springs. Wasn't the best mattress but it would do. The room was slightly stuffy from not being used, so she opened the single window to let the cool breeze from outside come in. There was a small room that branched off where she could use the bathroom and take a bath. After looking around she stood in the center unsure of what to do now. Before Tye could go to the tailor she had to receive her sponsor. There were faint sounds coming from outside of her door; the other girls who were being shown their rooms. She wondered if she should change into something a little nicer then her faded pants and boots, and her loose button up white shirt, but decided against it just in case they did any training today. She wouldn't want to be uncomfortable.

She went to the window to look out at the small courtyard that lay below it. Tye blinked a few times before believing what she saw. There were two trees and on every available space was a bird or a nest. She had never seen such a large group before. A young woman walked into the center, which cause all the birds to fly off their perch and swarm in a circle around her in greeting. The woman just laughed and told them to settle down. She watched them for a while amazed at how easily this woman could walk among them and almost seem as though she were one of their kind. She was startled from her thoughts by a loud knock on the door. "All new pages stand outside your doors!" a ruff voice barked.

Tucking her hair behind her ears and taking a settling breath she opened her door and stood outside it. Marcase marched down the hall with a group of boys and girls behind him; the older pages. There were only two first girls besides Tye, since there had been a large group the year before. The boys had already had their sponsors chosen and were among the older boys and girls already.

Tye snuck a glance at the other two girls. The one in front of the door to the left of hers was tall and blonde with a few streaks of red. Her blue eyes sparkled energetically and a huge grin was plastered on her face. Light brown freckles sprayed across her small nose. Her nails were clean and trimmed with soft uncallused hands, most likely from a life of pampering. Tye was surprised a girl like this would choose to become a knight. The second girl stood in front of the door opposite the blonde. She had short cropped black hair and deep green eyes. Her nose was thin and sharp and her mouth was set in a line on her determined face. Tye looked to the empty door in front of her as she waited her turn.

"Name?" Marcase asked the blonde.

"Able of Hollyrose." She told him with the same smile.

"Who will sponsor Able?" He asked turning towards the group behind him.

"I will." One of the older kids said. She had blonde hair and the same blue eyes. "She is my sister."

"Very well." He turned to the black haired girl. "Name?"

"Calandra of Queenscove." She answered.

"Who will sponsor Calandra?"

"I will." A short brown haired girl said flashing Calandra a smile.

"Alright." He moved in front of Tye. "Name."

"Tye" She answered simply, she didn't have any titles. A few snickered from the group but Marcase gave them a glare and they quieted.

"Who will sponsor Tye?" the group was quiet. For a few minutes He waited but when no one said anything he sighed frustrated.

"Who doesn't have someone to sponsor?" He asked agitated. They had had a pretty large group of boys so it was possible everyone had someone to sponsor already. He would have to double up if that were true and that never turned out very well since it often stressed out the sponsor who had to watch both.

"Fine I'll do it." A boy exclaimed from the crowd. A boy not much older then herself stepped forward. He was obviously a Bazhir, and one of the most regal-looking ones she had ever met. He eyed her with disdain.

"Very well. Everyone has their sponsors now, you can continue onto the tailors, then sponsors should show their first year around the castle until dinner where schedules for classes will be handed out." With that he walked off down the hall and left the pages alone with one another. Slowly the pages all trailed off with their sponsors leaving only Tye and the Bazhir. After a few moments of a glaring match Tye sighed and looked away.

"Aren't we supposed to go to the tailor?" She said slightly annoyed. This guy seemed way too stiff.

"Don't order me around. We will go when I am good and ready to go." He stated.

"Very well." Tye said and leaned against the wall quietly. Believing he had proven his point he said,"

"Alright follow me." He said turning and talking off in a fast passed walk. _What's this guys problem?_ Tye thought to herself trying to keep up.

"My father says that although women can become average warriors, the realm will soon see the error of its ways and remove that stupid law." _Oh he is one of those._

"I see." Was all she replied with as she concentrated on trying to remember the hallways they took to get to the tailor.

"My name is Rei Ibn Alhaz. My friends call me Rei, you on the other hand may refer to me as Alhaz. Make no mistake I did not become your sponsor out of the goodness of my heart. There was no one left and I want to prove first hand the mistake in allowing girls to fight." He spouted this all in one breath. Tye just rolled her eyes and choose to stay silent, best not to start off with a fight on the first day.

Ok chapter 2 is done! Introduced some characters who should be familiar.

Able is the daughter of Merric and Calandra is the daughter of Neal. More will be introduced in the next chapter which will be up either tomorrow or the day after. Review and tell me what you think, or with any ideas you think I should include.


	3. Meeting new People

Sorry forgot to include one last person at the end of the chapter last time.

Rei is the son of Zahir. This helps explain his feelings towards girl knights, since his father, Zahir, in protector of the Small had been against Kel becoming a knight.

Thanks again to the reviewers!

>

While Rei had been talkative in the beginning about his feelings towards her and girls like her who were training to become knights, for the rest of the journey to the tailor he was silent. This was fine for Tye who, after his speech earlier, found herself not too thrilled to have him as her sponsor. She followed behind him trying to keep up with his fast pase. By the time they did make it to the tailor most had already passed through so they didn't have much of a wait. It occurred to her that he might of just been waiting in the hall back there for most of the others to get through so he wouldn't have to wait in a long line, but she didn't want to give him too much credit.

Finally it was her turn. The tailor, a tall and lean man with thick black hair, came with a rope and measured her before going over a small pile of cloths and choosing some.

"Any other feminine articles you may need you may get from the head maid." He told her and handed her a small bundle.

"Thank you, sir." She said as they exited the small room and headed back to her own. Rei waited in the doorway as she put her cloths away neatly. He sighed impatiently and tapped his foot.

"Are you done yet?" He said adjusting the shoulder he was leaning on.

"I don't like to be unorganized. You can lose things too easily that way." Tye told him folding the last article of clothing. Rei rolled his dark turquoise eyes and sneered at her when she finally turned around, white teeth contrasting with his naturally dark tanned skin.

"Finally" he said and let out an exasperated breath. "Could you be any slower?"

"Most likely." She replied evenly, walking past him and into the hall. With another roll of his eyes he walked quickly so he could pass her and be in front.

"Let's just get this tour over with." He said as he quickly led her through hallways.

Tye was thankful she could remember things well since he moved so quickly it was hard to keep up sometimes. Just as she was taking in one area and learning how to get to a certain spot, he would move on. She didn't say anything knowing he was doing it on purpose. The castle was so large and there were so many rooms to be shown that they barely made it back in time for dinner to start.

There was a line to pick up food to the left of the door they entered from, with wooden tables taking up the rest of the space in the large dining hall. Rei and Tye waited in line until they both had trays of food.

"Don't sit near me." He sneered and turned to go.

"Fine." She said and turned in the opposite direction. That was when Marcase came through the doors and shouted,

"First year pages sit with your sponsor, we are going to have a two hour small practice after dinner until dark." And then went to sit at his special table in the back which was on a small platform against the wall. Rei stopped walking and made an unhappy grunting sound.

"Fine you can sit with me, but don't think that because we are eating together I am going to associate with you in anyway." He said and headed off towards one of the tables. Deciding not to reply to this, Tye followed close behind.

"Hey Rei!" one of the boys greeted him as they came to sit. "Who's this?"

"Hey Rikash." Rei said with a smile, which disappeared when he turned to acknowledge Tye. "Oh I'm her sponsor. Marcase is making her sit with us. Just ignore her." He said, turning his head back away from her.

"Don't mind Rei here. He's like it to most everyone, so don't take it personally." Rikash said with a large smile. "I am Rikash nice to meet you" He said sticking out his hand. He was leaner then most of the other boys here, but was taller. He had dark brown wavy hair and light blue eyes.

"Tye." She said taking his hand in greeting a moment. Others began to crowd around them as more people got out of line with their food. Most were older boys with their sponsors, although the two older girls who had chosen the other two girls in her hallway were there as well. Rikash took it upon himself to introduce everyone. He pointed to the blonde girl.

"This is Susan and her younger sister Able, who is your age. Next," He pointed to the brown haired girl,

"That is Yani and her younger sister Calandra, your year as well, their dad is the healer here." She looked between Yani and Calandra they didn't look very much alike at all except for their green eyes. After he introduced them another boy sat down.

"Ah here is Jonen!" he exclaimed. The boy had dark hair and dark blue eyes with pale skin. She nodded in greeting, he was the prince.

"This is Camric." He pointed to a boy with bright red hair and freckles covering his nose. The boy grinned before stuffing food in his mouth.

"Lastly Leonus, we just call him Leo, he is in your year as well." Leo was shorter then most, but has some of the most beautiful features she had ever seen on a boy. He had blond hair so bright it was almost white and his eyes were like ice. Rei growled,

"Stop flirting with the newbie." Rikash gasped with an innocent face.

"I was merely making polite conversation and introducing our newcomer here to some of our friends." He turned and winked at her before going at his food with equal fervor as Camric. Tye just shook her head with a slight smirk and began to eat her food.

Soon plates were scrubbed clean of food and the boys sighed in contentment as they cleared their trays. The two older girls shook their heads.

"They are going to regret eating so much when we go out to practice and they start cramping up." Yani said with a giggle. She and Susan put their trays away and headed out the doors.

"Well I know we were introduced before but it looks like we are going to be spending a lot of time together seeing as we are the only first year girl pages, So I am Able." She said happily.

"You can just call me Cala." Calandra said with a smile in return.

"Tye."

"Well come on girls can't let those boys show us up." Able said and led that way out onto the practice area. Tye followed with a small smile.

Marcase was already outside standing next to another man who was much shorter but had larger muscles and completely gray hair.

"Today's practice will just be a basic warm up. The Shang Wolf, Iban Taltak, will guide you through a few exercises." He nodded to the wolf and left.

Iban turned towards them with a smile. "Since it is your first day, well for most of you," the second years where there as well, which included all the people from the table, "We will go easy tonight. First line up into rows of five; make sure you have a good enough distance from the people around you so you can maneuver comfortably. I would suggest a body length away from each one." He told them and they moved to form the rows. After a few minutes of adjusting and having Iban move some people they made perfect rows of five.

"Before we do anything too serious we must stretch. Always remember to prepare your body before you do any exercises." He told them and positioned himself in front. He had them reach to touch their toes; few people could actually reach that far.

"Don't worry if you can't touch your toes yet, after a few practices of this you will."

He went through various stretches making sure each body part was sufficiently ready for what they were going to do.

"Alright I think that is enough for now. Next we will do some racing. It is good to practice running so that you don't get out of breath too quickly. Now stay in those rows that you are in now. Those will be the people you will race against." Tye was on the end, followed by Cala and able, the last two spots were other first year boys she hadn't met yet. They watched as the first few groups went. They had to run to the tree across the practice yard and back. Soon it was their turn and the girls lined up.

"Last one back buys the other two candies next time we go into town." Able whispered and got ready. Cala and Tye nodded in agreement.

Tye took a breath to get ready closing out all other sound. She didn't like losing money so she concentrated on the tree and nothing else. Her heart thudded in her chest excitedly as the wolf shouted

"Go!"

All the girls took off, flying past the boys, none of them willing to loose. Tye's feet pounded the ground beneath her, her sight only on what was before her. Her blood pounded in her ears as the wind rushed past them. She pushed off to the side a little farther so they wouldn't be heading towards the same spot on the tree and crash. The grass got thicker and longer, making it harder to get through, but she pushed on. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something in the grass; A log, directly in her path. Thinking quickly she leapt right before she hit it. She rose gracefully into the air, soaring above the log. Her right leg pointed in front and the left one pointed behind. He back arched perfectly as she turned towards the ground and landed with a soft thump, only to take off at the same speed as before catching up the few feet that she had lost from the jump. She slammed into the tree and spun around. She pulled ahead of Able slightly who had been in the lead. Tye suddenly realized something. The leap might have drawn too much attention. Able was only a few steps behind her. She kept up the same pase but took smaller steps so it didn't look like she purposefully was getting out of first. Able pulled ahead of her at the last minute winning the race.

All the girls panted loudly trying to catch their breath. The two boys came in behind them after a few seconds. Tye looked up, didn't look like anyone noticed. She sighed in relief. However she missed the look on one person's face; the wolf who had been the only one who had seen the jump since she had been so far away, and noticed when she started taking smaller steps. His curiosity grew, but decided to hold off any questions until later.

After all the races were done he led them through a few cool down exercises before dismissing them since the sun had begun to set. All off them walked tiredly off to the baths to wash up before going to sleep.

"Hold on Tye." He called before she walked away. She froze and her eyes widened. She took a breath to calm herself before turning back to him.

"I would like to talk to you a moment about something." He said keeping a friendly smile on his face.

>

ok chapter three all done. Finally!

Camric was made for my good friend Fauna Greywolf. He is the son of Cleon.

10 points to whoever can guess who Leo is related too…lol

ok review and let me know what you think


	4. First day of Classes

Ok here's chapter four!

In one of the reviews someone pointed out that since tye is not of a noble family she can not become a knight since only nobles can become knights, in this chapter I will explain how she is allowed to. Hope it clears some things up!

Sorry it took me a while to update. I have been sick the last two days and really couldn't write.

Tye turned and watched the others file in tiredly into the building before turning and waiting for Iban to speak.

"I was watching you during the race." He began cautiously and waited for her reaction. She shrugged.

"And?"

"I think you know what I'm talking about. You purposefully lost the race for one thing. I could tell from your steps, they changed at the end. Also the jump, very few could pull something like that off without any sort of training." He stated. Tye paused, so someone had seen. Well in her short years she had come to learn the half truths work better then full out lies.

"My…Family… believed that it was very important to be able to control and use every part of your body. They had everyone in my family trained at a young age. I lost the race because I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself. I didn't want them all to know I had previous training; sometimes it makes people think it is an unfair advantage." He nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes we come across pages who have bee trained before, we usually move them up with the older pages."

"Oh, I really don't want to be moved. I don't mind going over the basics again really can't hurt to have more practice." The wolf grinned. She defiantly knew how to win a teacher over.

"All right you can stay with the first and second years. I understand that it would make things more harmful then good if you were to be moved up too quickly, you are one of the children who are here because of the new class law correct?"

"Yes sir. Thank you for letting me stay."

"Alright well I better let you go. Busy day tomorrow." He said and turned to opposite way from the building and walked off. Tye let out a breath. She had hoped that people wouldn't notice that she was here because of the class law. Some people still weren't very accepting and she feared that they might cause trouble that would get her kicked out. As long as she avoided people like this as best she could then there should be no problems. With a nod she jogged back to the building to catch up with the two other girls.

Roald had put a new law into effect a few years before that a select few from the middle class would be able to try for their knighthood. So far things had not been going well. All of them that took advantage of this would either be kicked out for bad behavior or just leave on their own. In fact no one had made it to knighthood yet. Already there were several lords who wanted to use this as proof as why the law should be revoked. Hardly anyone from the middle classes applied anymore. Roald himself was thinking of revoking it since it was causing more harm and disagreement between the lords then good. The law had all started because of an even that had taken place years ago. A maid had been kidnapped and tied into a tower for the entire night. Of course she had been found and the one in charge of the whole thing brought to the courts. But since he was a noble he had been charged a small fine and released. He had hoped that this law would begin to show people they were equal and that nobles should not have all these special privileges, but so far this plan had failed.

"Hey where did you go?" Able asked once Tye entered the girl's bathhouse.

"Oh had to ask Iban the wolf something real quick." She said as she got in. The warm water eased her aching muscles from the stretching and racing.

"That was a great race you guys" Able went on. "I swear you had me beat Tye!" she exclaimed.

"Well guess you are a better finisher." Tye replied and shrugged.

"Guess so. You know what this means though right?" she asked with a smile. "Cala buys the treats next time we are in town!" Cala just snorted and splashed her with water.

"Yeah, yeah I know. It was close though you have to admit."

"Really close." Able replied. "I'm exhausted!"

"Just wait until we have practices and classes and homework to do." Cala said. Able whined.

"You know just how to make me feel better."

"Anytime." Cala said and they laughed. Tye listened as they talked and joined in every once in a while. It was nice to be around people her own age. They were nice and seemed to enjoy her company. She was even beginning to see them as friends. Tye smiled a little to herself at the thought as she relaxed in the warm water.

_The next morning…_

Tye awoke early as usual. The sun had yet to rise, but a small patch of yellow on the horizon showed that it would soon. She washed her face and used the latrine before getting out some fresh cloths and putting them on. She opened the shutters on her window to check the time. It was still early; the birds in the trees hadn't begun to wake yet. She took in a deep breath of fresh air. She was really here, in a castle, training to become a knight. She let it all sink in a moment before turning away from the window and lighting a candle on the small table next to her bed. Next to it was a small parchment with a list of her classes. Tye had found it on the floor of her room the night before when she came in, having been pushed under the door. She then went to one of her drawers and pulled out a small leather-bound book and sitting down on her bed to read for a few moments before she had to go to breakfast.

She had been reading for less then an hour when their was a knock on her door.

"Come in." She called as she marked her place and closed her book. Rei strolled in leaving the door open behind him.

"Sponsors have to give first years a wake up call on the first day so they know from now on when to get up, but it looks like you are already up so get ready and we will go to breakfast." He said and sat down in the chair across from her bed. She set down her book and blew out the candle before slipping on her shoes. After putting her book away she followed him out of the door and locked it. Able and Cala were there with their sisters. They both smiled and yawned in greeting before sleepily following their sisters to breakfast.

Her and Rei stood in line like before. She finished before him since he tended to take more food and moved to sit down.

"You don't have to sit with me today." He stated as he picked up some more food.

"I'm not." She replied.

"Good."

"I'm sitting with Able and Cala." She smirked slightly as grunted, knowing that it would be at the same table. She saw Able and Cala already at the table and started to head towards them when a large chest moved into her way.

"You are Tye are you not?" The deep oily voice spoke. Tye turned up to the larger boy, he looked to be about in his third year. He had deep black hair slicked back perfectly without a stray strand. His light brown eyes looked down on her while his thin mouth kept a constant sneer.

"yes." She said and went to walk around him, only to have him step in front of her again.

"You are one of those... _Lower…_ class pages." He stated seemingly disgusted by mentioning the word.

"Correct again." She said and was about to take another step before he grabbed her arm. He leaned down and talked quieter so only she could hear.

"You may as well leave now. It would make things so much easier in the end." He stated simply before standing up straight again and wiping off his hand on his jacket as if she was dirty.

"Have a nice day." He said in a pleasant voice before going off to another table, with a giggling girl and a group of glaring boys. Tye just rolled her eyes and went to go find a seat. By that time Rei had already sat down and there was only a seat next to him left.

"Ah Tye!." Rikash called out when he saw her. "What took you? We were worried!" he flashed her a smile as she took her seat.

"Oh nothing just got held up." No point in worrying them over something that wasn't their problem. She would deal with that boy later if he meant any harm.

The girls had gone over their schedules with one another. Since they were all first years most of their classes were the same. They had eaten quickly to have plenty of time to find their first class, which was math for all of them. By the time they found it the teacher and a few others had already taken their seats. They saw Leo sitting towards the back and took seats around him, which caused him to blush.

"Hey Leo!" Able greeted. "Didn't see you at breakfast."

"Oh I sat at another table." He said looking down.

"Oh no problem Leo. You can have other friends. We were just wondering where you were." Cala said quickly when he looked down guiltily.

"So who's the teacher?" She asked tilting her head towards the man in front of the room. He was short and balding with a strip of white hair around the middle of his head.

"Lord Burton." Leo replied. "He's very nice and fair. Won't over work us too much. Although he does tend to spit when he talks. That's why I took a seat back here."

Cala and Able laughed.

"Good thinking." Cala said.

More students came a few minutes later and the class began. Leo had been right. He had only given them one problem for homework since it was their first day and even let them out a few minutes early so they could find their next class. They walked together in the halls. The four of them seemed to get along very well, although Leo had been pretty quiet and reserved in the beginning he did start to open up a bit as they spent more time together. Tye was just naturally quiet and enjoyed listening to the conversations. The next class was history and law of the realm. It was taught by a tall, lean man with a long nose a long stringy black hair name Lord Malcof. His dark brown eyes flashed from one side of the room to the other as he barked out information quickly that they had to take notes on. He only stopped when the bell for class sounded. They were assigned an entire page on what they had taken notes on.

"I could barely follow that. I'm sure I missed something." Able said worriedly.

"We can always share notes later." Tye suggested. The other three brightened from the sour mood that the teacher had put them in.

"That's a great idea." Leo said relieved. Luckily the next class was only a few doors down. It was Battle history and strategy. A large man with broad shoulders and light blonde hair taught the class. Sir Ornic was one of the largest knights she had ever seen. He had a loud voice and even louder laugh and was enthusiastic about any battle subject. He kept the class fun and fast passed, hardly pausing to take a break when he spoke. But his stories were interesting and held everyone's attention. They had to draw one of the strategies he had gone over in class that day for homework. Their last academic class for the day before they go to go to lunch was etiquette. Surprisingly it was taught by a woman. He name was Lady Minorim. She was tall and elegant with long blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. They were forced to practice bows the entire class period. Everyone was relieved when the bell rang.

"How was your first day of classes?" Rikash asked as they set their lunch trays down at the table.

"Long." Cala replied yawning. "I'm ready to sleep already."

"But those were just your academic classes. Now you have the rest of the day to do. hand to hand combat, weapons training, and finally riding." Cala and Able moaned.

"At least we don't have to write anymore. My hand is getting tired." Leo said rubbing his palm. The girls nodded and went to finish their meal.

After they finished and put their trays away they walked together out onto the first practice field to have their first hand to hand combat lesson.

Ill update this quickly. This chapter was mostly to start showing her different relationships with people. Review and let me know what you think. Sorry if its not all that great, still trying to get over this cold that wont go away!


	5. After the academic classes

Ok sry guys it took so long to put this out. I've been sick, plus I have exams, so be a little patient with me until those get done. This may be a little short since I have two major exams coming up tomorrow, but I will update on Thursday defiantly.

Someone brought to my attention that it costs money to become a knight. Well that is why those from the middle class are allowed to join since they do have money. Hale told Marcase that he owned an inn in the first chapter, so he would be making a pretty good income and would be able to pay the fee.

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The Shang wolf met them out on the field. He smiled and welcomed them. Tye looked around and noticed a few who weren't there from their table. She leaned over and whispered to Able as the group waited for a few more people to show up from lunch.

"Where are Rei, Yani, and Susan?" She asked.

"Oh all three of them are third years. They train at a different time with a different group." Able replied. Tye nodded and turned back to Iban who had begun talking. She hadn't noticed how much older Rei was.

"Alright. Last time we met we did a little stretching and a few running exercises. That was mostly just for now. Now we will begin to get more into actual fighting. I do expect however for everyone to continue running to increase their breath. Now let us do a few stretches that we did before."

Able and Cala talked quietly together as they all stretched. They were in rows again, but this time of four. Tye, Able, Cala, and Leo all made up one row. Able was on her left and Leo was on her right with Cala to the left of Able.

"You did pretty good in the races last time." Leo remarked to her as he reached to touch his toes, almost making it.

"Thanks." Tye replied. She was slightly embarrassed to say that she hadn't been paying any attention to the other races and therefore hadn't seen how he had done. "So did you." She said as they came back up not wanting to sound rude.

"Really?" He looked over at her curiously. "Last place and one of the slowest times is pretty good?" She bit her lip and he laughed.

"Don't worry I didn't pay too much attention to all of them either. After a while it got a little boring and I was in one of the last ones." He flashed her a smile before looking towards the front again. _Good thing he doesn't get offended easily_ Tye thought to herself.

"Now the first thing we always teach is how to fall." The wolf said and proceeded to show them the correct way, with his hands slapping the ground as he hit and rolling after. For the rest of the class this was what they practiced. By the time they heard the bell ring all their hands were red from being slammed into the ground. A few had already sprained their wrists. Tye rubbed her sore wrists knowing that it would be difficult to practice with weapons with stiff wrists. The wolf bound up a few wrists and sent them on their way. He caught her shoulder before she left and waited till the others were out of hearing distance.

"I hope that wasn't too easy for you." He said.

"Oh, no." Tye said giving him a small smile. "I had only been taught what they thought was important for me to know how to do. It's good to go back and see the small things that I missed." He nodded and let her go. She ran and caught up with her three friends. It was still new to her, calling these people friends, but it left her with a nice feeling and she grinned a bit as she walked next to them.

Marcase himself was waiting for them on the second field.

"For your first day I will be in charge of weapons training." He bellowed out not even waiting for everyone to reach him in the middle of the field. He had a pile of wooden staffs next to him.

"We will use these staffs in the beginning to learnt he basic movements." He paired them up quickly. Able and Cala were together while Tye and Leo were partners. Once everyone had been paired and given a staff he stood in front of the two rows.

"The right row will strike and the left row will block." He began. He took the first pair aside and used them to show the others how to do high and low strikes and blocks.

"Now I want to see everyone doing what you have just been shown. I will go around and make sure you are doing it correctly." For a while he circled around and made corrections. Then he alternated which side did what, before showing them a few more strikes and blocks. Before the bell rang he stopped them to talk to them once more.

"Now I expect all of you to be able to do all those fairly well tomorrow with your new weapons trainer. He unfortunately could not make it back here in time for the first lesson, but will be here tomorrow defiantly. Now we will head over to the stables for riding and you will each pick a mount from the spares."

Once the bell rang everyone took off towards the stables. Tye followed along behind her friends. Horses had never been to fond of her and she was afraid she wouldn't find one that would want to work with her. Rikash noticed her lagging behind. He slowed down until he was next to her.

"Don't worry my mom will be there. She is great with animals. You don't have to worry about a thing." He squeezed her shoulder before picking up the pase again. This time, a little more at ease, she began to run with him.

The second years went straight to the mounts and waited as the first years stood together in the middle of the stables in front of a woman. She had long brown hair and was fairly young. _This must be Rikash's mother_ Tye concluded. She smiled as the last of the first years filed in.

"Now the second years already have their mounts so they will just have to wait a few moments before we go onto the lesson. I was asked to be here to help with the choosing of pages and horses. My name is Daine, most of you may know of me, for those who don't, well let's just say I am good with animals." She paused and laughed slightly. "Now what we are going to do is find a mount who will work well with each page depending on their personality." She waved for the first years to follow her farther into the stable where the available mounts were. She told them to line up. Tye took very last, since she knew that horses didn't react very well to her. She took five pages at a time around to each of the horses to see which mount would react to whom. Each page would hold out their hand and the horse would nuzzle the hand of the person they chose. Some found it strange at first that the horses were the ones choosing, but they always were pleased with the mount that they had gotten.

"How can they know who is right for them?" A boy asked. He was a first year page but Tye hadn't met him before.

"Animals can tell a person's character and personality. If it matches with what they want in a human partner then they choose you." Daine explained as a horse nuzzled the boy's hand. She smiled at him and went to go get the last group of first years.

"I would like the second years to start saddling up. I will come over and check how each of you do." She called to the second years who were closer to the front of the stables.

There weren't many horses left so the last group went by very quickly. Soon there was only Tye. She had gone through almost all of the horses and they just kept shying away.

"Horses don't like me very much." She explained quietly to Daine who had a strange look on her face.

"I don't understand. They keep saying that your scent is strange. Do you have any idea why?" Daine looked to her.

"Could be her upbringing," A boy from the crowd said, followed by snickers from others. Daine glared at the crowd and they quickly went silent. There were too many to tell who had said it and she knew no one would tell if she asked. She shook her head and thought. Never before had she not found a horse for a page. Just then she got an idea.

"Second years show the first years how to saddle. I will be back in a few moments. Follow me Tye." She led them farther back into the stables. "Now I don't want you to be afraid, but there is one horse. He does have a temper, but he is not as skittish as the others. For some reason they think your scent is wrong that is why they won't let you ride them. If he thinks that you are someone none of the others will accept and let ride, then he may see it as a challenge to prove his strength. I will warn you though, it may take some time to get on his good side. I was starting to worry I wouldn't be able to find anyone for him. Just be patient with him, he's a good horse deep down. Daine led her to a stall at the end. "You can come in through the back way when you bring him in since it will be faster then the front. She opened the door to the stall and walked in. Tye waited outside knowing horses didn't like unwanted visitors. Daine held her hands up and seemed to converse with him a moment. This gave Tye a good chance to look him over. He was a fairly large horse, completely black with no sign of any other color. His mane was long and brushed until there was not a single tangle. What was most striking about him was his eyes. They were a light blue. She noticed he had been looking over her as well.

"It's ok. I think he will be your mount. I have explained the situation and it seems that he does not believe you are completely awful. Which should be taken as a compliment since he normally hates everyone. I will help you saddle up and we will head back to the others." Daine said and went to go grab the things she would need. This left them alone for a moment. Neither one moved, and he barely acknowledged her. Finally she cleared he throat.

"Well I guess we will be working together for a while." He snorted at her. "My name is Tye." She reached out her hand slowly, seeing how he would react. She touched his nose for the briefest moment before he pushed her hand away as if to say that he would not be one of those cuddly horses. Not the best of responses, but it could have gone worse.

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I kno its short, like I said before exams have kept me pretty busy. I know not too much happened in this chapter, but I just wanted to get her classes and schedule down first. Thursdays chapter will be a lot longer. Well until them review and let me know what you think.


	6. Confrontation

Ok guys, sry I kno this chapter is a little late. I got back a lot later then I had planned last night then I got kicked out of the computer room!

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Daine came back and helped Tye saddle him.

"What is his name?" Tye asked as they lead him out of his stall.

"It's Corm." Daine said and smiled. "It means heart in yamani." She smiled and patted his neck. Tye felt a twinge of jealousy when Corm didn't seem to mind Daine touching him. She shrugged it off quickly. Maybe things between her and corm would get better the more time she spent with him. He didn't seem to completely dislike her anyways.

When they reached the others, they had already saddled up as well. Daine handed her the reins once they stopped next to Leo. He smiled and shook his head laughing a bit. Tye gave him a weird look.

"Just like my mom in a jewelry store." He explained. "Just had to go in the back to see if there was something better." She punched him lightly on the arm.

"Alright before we go out into the field to practice riding, we will first try and mount up." She used the second years to show them how to do it properly. Once all the first years had it right she led them out onto the fenced in field. Tye gripped the reins tightly. It wasn't as if she had never been on a horse before. She had a few times, but she had never been too comfortable with not being in complete control. Horses could be unpredictable at times, and she hated being unprepared for what may happen.

Daine set the second years on a course before coming to the first years.

"Most of you if not all have ridden a horse before, but it will be good to go through the basics before we set you on more difficult tasks." Daine explained. "Now I want all of you to trot slowly around the field along the fence." Daine showed them how to instruct the horses. Tye did as she was told, but Corm just snorted at her. Apparently he did not like being told what to do. Leo seemed to have some trouble with his horse as well, but for opposite reasons. His horse was a lighter shade of black then Corm, with a white diamond on his forehead and white around his hoves.

"Come on Midnight." He said calmly rubbing his neck. The horse was slightly skittish but after some soothing words fell in behind the rest. Cala and Able both had light brown horses; Calas with a dark brown mane and tail, while Able's had light brown almost blond mane and tail. They both seemed energetic and were near the front of the line. Tye eased up on the reins a bit. Leo's horse had reacted well to him talking, so maybe she just had to calmly talk to Corm.

"What's wrong why won't you go?" She asked. He pawed at the ground and snorted again. They had been told to lightly tap their heels against the horses hide to get them to walk. Maybe he didn't like the kicking. "How about if I make a sound or something when we need to move, if you don't like the kicking that is?" A few pages lapped them and snickered at her while they passed. She ignored them and smiled at Cala and Able as they walked by. Daine was near the center instructing a few first years who weren't seated right. A cat shot through the field spooking Midnight and Daine rushed over to calm him quickly before Leo got thrown off.

"Well we will just look stupid if we just stand here." She pointed out. "How about this sound for walking." She made a clicking sound with her tongue. "and when I would like you to speed up I make this sound." She made a popping sound with her lips. "See I wouldn't have to kick you that way. Alright?" A few pages laughed when they heard her trying to negotiate with Corm, but quickly stopped when he snapped his teeth and tried to bite them. Tye smiled a bit.

"Ok ready?" She clicked her tongue. For a moment he seemed to think about it before he began to slowly follow the lines of pages. After they worked out their problem the rest of practice was easy. She found he liked to show off a bit and would sometimes enjoy scaring midnight which was unfortunate for Leo who was riding him.

"Alright everyone time to head in. Dinner will be in a half hour." Daine shouted. Everyone filed in through the stable doors. Tye headed around back since that was were Corm's stall was. After she turned the corner she saw a boy leaning against the doorframe. She remembered him from breakfast that morning. He had confronted her about being from a lower class. Tye cast a glance around. Behind the stables she was out of sight from everyone. He could do anything and no one would see. She silently cursed her luck and continued forward.

"Ah Tye. Good to see you again." He said with the same oily voice. "I hope that you have been thinking on what we talked about this morning." He stated giving her a smirk before pushing off the doorframe and walking back towards the castle. Corm made a move as if he was going to go after him. She pulled on the reins a bit to stop him.

"Don't worry about him." She said as she dismounted. "Anyways you did really good today." She said praising him. That took his mind off the boy, and he proudly followed her with his head held high. He liked being complemented. She froze when she got back to his stall. Buckets of food and water had been over turned. Hay had been thrown all over the place. She sighed and took off his reins and saddle. She took a brush and brushed off the dirt from his coat and untangled his main.

"Alright you wait here a minute as I clean this up." She said and got to work in his stall. By the time she finished, she couldn't hear voices from the front anymore. She closed Corm up in his stall and said good bye before rushing back to the castle. She rinsed all the dirt and sweat off quickly and put on some fresh cloths. By the time she reached the dining hall she was very late. Marcase did not like it when people were late.

"Tye please come seem me after dinner." He shouted before returning to his meal. A few snickered from a table off to her right. The greasy boy nodded his head and smirked at her. She rolled her eyes wishing she had let Corm go after him. Tye filled up her plate and took he seat in between Rei and Leo. Cala and Able were seated across from her in between Camric and Rikash. Jonen had to take turns sitting with everyone since he was the prince. Today he was with a few other third years.

"What took you so long?" Cala asked as she ate.

"Yea everyone finished a while again." Able added looking at her curiously.

"Oh Corm just stepped in some mud so I had to clean him off." Tye quickly lied. No need to get them worried over nothing. A little hazing never hurt anyone. Rei looked over at her surprised for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to his food. He knew exactly why she was late. He had overheard a few of them planning it. He was surprised she didn't mention anything to her friends. But if she wasn't worried about it, then he wouldn't bring it up.

"Corm?" Rikash asked. "Is that your horse's name?"

"Yes. Daine said it meant heart." Tye explained. Leo coughed.

"Heart? Why would they give such a nice and sweet name to an evil horse like that? He kept purposefully scaring my poor midnight." Leo said.

"It's not her fault that your horse is so skittish." Able said and laughed when Leo frowned at her.

"What's your horse's name?" Susan asked her sister from beside Rei.

"Sugar." Able told her and smiled.

"And yours Cala?" Yani asked from across Susan and next to Rikash.

Able and Cala looked at one another and giggled.

"Spice." She replied causing a few others to laugh as well.

"Sugar and spice, eh?" Rikash said with a smile. Both girls nodded and laughed as they went back to eating.

"Ever since Daine has come here, the horses have really matched well with whoever they partner with." Camric said with a mouthful of food. "Take mine for example. His name is Carad it's Yamani for red." He said and smiled rubbing his bright red hair. The table chuckled and nodded in agreement. There had been a lot of Yamani influence since Roald had married a woman that was Yamani, that was why many horses had names that were in yamani.

"What is your horses name?" Cala asked Rei. He paused his eating.

"Asto." He replied and returned to eating. "It is Bazhir for dust."

By then everyone finished dinner and stacked their trays. Tye waved as the group left and headed over to Marcase's table.

"I do not care for excuses. You were late so fro punishment you will clean armor for an hour on your break day." With and wave of his hand she was excused. She walked out of the dining hall and directly into a chest. She rubbed her nose and looked up. The greasy boy was there again. This time he had a small group with him. Two boys and a girl.

"That was just a warning. We could do much worse." He stated simply.

"Why don't we just deal with her now Ron?" one of the boys asked. He was short and chubby with short brown hair with dull brown eyes.

"Patience Timoty. Tye is a smart girl, aren't you Tye? You'll listen to this and make this easy for everyone won't you?" He asked her innocently.

"Tye?" a voice called out from behind Ron and his group. They all turned to see Rei leaning against the wall. "I was asked to find you and tell you to meet up in Cala's room." He stated. "Ronald good to see you." Ron nodded at him before turning back to her.

"Remember what I said." He whispered before he and his friends took off.

Rei turned around and started walking away. Tye quickly caught up with him. Neither one said anything for a while. When Rei turned to go to the boy's dorms she paused.

"Rei." She said and he stopped. "Thanks."

"I didn't do anything." He stated. "Just delivered the message." He continued walking. When he turned a corner she sighed and headed off to Cala's room.

"Hey!" Able shouted when she walked into the room. "Was Marcase hard o you?"

"Just have to clean armor for an hour on break day." Tye said and shrugged.

"That stinks." Cala said. Her and Able had papers out and were writing on them. "We figured we could work on our homework together. That way if we need help other people are around." She explained.

"Ok let me just grab my work." Tye said and went to her room. On her way back she saw Leo coming towards the door.

"Hey girls. Thought I could join the study group." He explained. "That is if you don't mind." He asked suddenly shy.

"Are you allowed in our rooms?" Able asked.

"As long as the door is open." He said.

"Well then sure." Cala told him and smiled.

Cala had the desk. Able had the bed, and Tye and Leo worked on the floor. They finished their work quickly, not having much since it was the first day, and worked on their bows and hand to hand combat until it was time for lights out.

"Ok goodnight ladies." Leo said with a bow as he headed back to his room causing the girls to laugh.

"See you guys tomorrow." Able said as she and Tye left Cala's room.

Tye was exhausted by the time she finally lay down in her bed. She left the window open since it was a warm night and fell asleep to the sounds of the crickets chirping outside of her window.

xXx

"I really don't understand it." Daine said to Marcase in his office. "The horses have never acted that way before. Of course some are nervous around humans, but they all felt as though something was wrong with her." She explained. Growing up during wars had made them cautious. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"I will just have her watched. If it means something we will find out and confront her. If it is nothing, then she won't know that we were suspicious of her." Marcase said.

"I will contact an old friend tonight and see if they may be able to help us out with this." Daine said.

"Good let me know tomorrow how things go." Marcase instructed. Daine nodded and left. Thinking about the message she would send to a certain lady knights husband.

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Ok chapter six is done. Let me know what you think! Again sry its late, hope you enjoy it.


	7. Magical Potential

Alrighty here is chapter seven. School just started back up so that's why it's a day or two later then I would have liked. I'm going to try and write in first person perspective in some parts of this chapter. I don't know how good I will be at this but I will try. Review and let me know if you think I should continue with 1st person or go back to just telling the story.

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_Tye's POV…_

I woke up to a dark room. After my eye's had adjusted to the small amount of light I pushed the sheets down and sat up. My muscles burned from the strain of yesterday, protesting my sudden movement. Taking a breath I stood up and winced as my muscles pulled further. Shuffling over to a drawer I pulled out a candle and lit it before setting it down on the small table next to my bed.

After a few stretches my muscles seemed to calm down slightly. It was then I noticed the small audience I had gathered at my window. A few birds stood on the sill, apparently awake before the rest of their large flock. Before coming within a few feet of them, they all took off back to their tree. Animals did not take to me too well. I bet they could smell it within me.

Quickly I shook my head free of these thoughts. Getting upset would help nothing. I can not change what I am. Besides as long as these people don't find out, they won't treat me differently.

Realizing the sun had begun to rise while I stood musing, I turned to go wash my face and get ready for the day. My drawers were depressingly empty as I went to grab some fresh cloths. Maybe after I finished my time cleaning armor on the next free day, I would pick up some more clothing before I met up with everyone else in town.

By the time I finished dressing, the birds had awoken and were screeching loudly in the courtyard. I smiled slightly as I went to close the window and lock it. I had heard that pages would sneak into others rooms through the window if they were left open to play tricks on they if they didn't like them. Maybe I shouldn't leave it open all night anymore. After making the bed I sat down on it with my book to catch up on some reading before I have to go to breakfast.

Rei would not be coming this morning to bring me to breakfast like he did yesterday so I made sure to listen for the other girls. They had sisters who would come and get them when it was time to go.

I had only gotten a few pages done before I heard the girls being woken up with loud knocking. I set my book aside and stretched as I got up, muscles still slightly sore. That boy, Ronald, would defiantly be there. I had no desire to see him or his goons again, but I knew they would cause more trouble for me in the days to come.

Rei knew what they were up to. I don't know what he will do, if he will help me or not. He's not that bad of a guy, but defiantly does not like me. I don't want to involve the others since they seem to be enjoying themselves here so much. Besides I can handle a little hazing from a few people. I just hope it won't last too much longer. I don't want to give up more of my free day or have to worry constantly about where they will turn up next and how to avoid them.

xXxXxXxXx (ok end of Tye's POV)

Tye was brought out of her thoughts by a loud knocking at the door. She was surprised that someone would come for her, since she was sure Rei wouldn't want to come get her when he didn't have to. She opened the door to find an older woman standing before her smiling.

She was in her twenties and fairly short with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Her skin was tanned and freckles spotted her nose.

"Hello there, my name is Lyn. I will be the maid for you girls here. Since there are so few of you this year, they decided just to have one maid for the three of you to share since none of you had your own." The woman had a pleasant voice and Tye couldn't help but smile slightly in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Tye." She said introducing herself. "I'm not very messy so you won't really have any work to do in my room." No matter how nice a person was, she still didn't like people poking around in her private places. She hoped it hadn't shown in the tone of her voice.

"Well you are all free to use me as you need to. I was just waking up the other girls, but I see you are already up and ready. People have already started to head into the dining hall, so you can go there and avoid the long lines if you want." Lyn told her, the constant smile on her face.

"Alright good idea." Tye said and closed the door behind her before locking it. "Again nice to meet you." She said and walked off. She didn't notice Lyn watching her until she was out of sight.

xXx

The halls were mostly empty as she walked through them. It was still a little early to go to breakfast, so most people were still getting ready. Her steps echoed off the walls as she walked alone down the cold hallway.

"Did you think on what we talked about." A voice spoke from behind her. She froze quickly surprised at not hearing Ronald come up behind her.

"Hello Ronald." She said in a pleasant voice turning around to face him. He smiled at her use of his name. His dark hair was sleeked back as perfectly as ever.

"So have you decided to do what would be best for everyone? Or will things have to become more complicated?" He asked her simply. "Before you answer," He interrupted before she opened her mouth. "Keep in mind that no one of your…standings has been able to make it to the title of knighthood yet." He said smirking. She knew it was because of him and people like him.

"Well as… thoughtful as your offer sounds. I think I'm going to stick it out for a little bit." She told him. Might as well get it out that she would not be leaving. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but paused and looked past her.

"A little bit it will be." He said and quickly stormed off. She turned around to see Rei standing at the end of the hallway. He waited until she walked over to him before he started moving towards the dining hall again. For a while neither one said anything.

"Can you try and not get into trouble with these guys for more then a few hours." He finally grunted out. "I don't want to have to keep breaking up these little meetings you keep having." She glared over at him a moment. And to think she was actually starting to think he wasn't so bad.

"Well then don't worry any more Alhaz." She put emphasis on his last name, reminding him that he asked her not to call him by his first name since she was not his friend. "I won't expect your help anymore then." She said and pushed past him into the dining hall. She put some food on her tray and sat down in her normal seat waiting for the rest of the pages to come in. Rei come in a few moments later with the other boys and Yani and Susan.

Cala and Able came a few moments after them, rubbing their eyes sleepily. Once all the pages got seated they were told they could begin eating. Across from her Cala and Able started talking about their hair.

"I think I am going to cut mine like Yani and Susan." Cala told Able and Tye. Leo nodded.

"Yea it is not good to keep long hair since it is easy to pull." He said in between bites.

"Maybe I will too." Able said. "Susan said it would be a good idea." They looked at Tye to see what she thought. Tye just shrugged.

"I'm just going to tie it up I think." She said before going back to eat. The other three could tell she wasn't in the best of moods so left her alone for most of the meal.

Once they were done Tye's mood had gotten better and she started talking with them before Marcase's voice boomed out across the dining hall.

"First years are to come to the dining hall instead of their battle history and strategies class. We will be testing you for magical potential. Those of you who have magic will go to a magical studies class every other day, alternating between the battle strategies and magical studies. Those of you who don't have magical potential will go to immortal studies instead. Tkaa, the former teacher, has not returned this year so he may travel a bit. Instead we have Lord Bircham, who has had many personal encounters with immortal creatures. You are dismissed." He shouted before leaving himself.

Classes went on as usual, with a few instances here and there. Papers would disappear off her desk and she would have to find another. Writing utensils would somehow continuously fall on the floor and she would have to go and pick it up every time. Her friends didn't notice since they were wrapped up in their studies, but Tye could hear a few giggles here and there every time she had to get up and pick up something off the floor. _So it has begun._ She thought to herself. This wasn't so bad, she could deal with it.

xXx

After math the first years reported back to the dining hall. The tables had been pushed aside and they were told to form a line. A tall lanky man with long black hair stood where Marcase ate up on the platform and began taking students one at a time. It didn't look as if he was doing anything. He would stare at them a moment before telling them which class they were to go to.

He looked slightly familiar and it wasn't until Cala explained who he was that they knew why.

"That's Numair, Rikash's father, he is one of the most powerful mages in the entire realm." She whispered to them.

Soon it was their turn. Both Cala and Leo were put in the magical studies class, while Able was put in immortal studies. Tye walked up and stood in front of the man and waited for what he would decide. Marcase had been standing beside the line making sure that the pages where quiet while Numair worked. He watched as Numair read her to see if she had any magical signature. Earlier he had asked him if he could poke around a bit to see if he found anything off.

Numair paused and took a few moments longer on Tye. His brow furrowed as if he was in deep concentration a moment. Finally he said immortal studies and rubbed his forehead as if in thought.

He finished the rest up quickly and said farewell before leaving. Marcase had two servants show them to the classrooms that they would go to every other day. In the immortals studies classroom she saw Rikash sitting down. She and Able went to sit next to him.

"What are you doing here?" Able asked.

"Last year they put me in magical studies. Since my parents are two of the most powerful mages in the entire realm, they figured I would have some sort of power. After a whole year of trying they decided to put me in immortals studies. That's why I'm with the first years." He sighed obviously upset. "Funny isn't it? I have no magical ability what so ever." Able reached over and patted his hand. A slow smile spread across his face. "Well on the bright side. I get you two lovely ladies all to myself now don't I?" He said and grinned even wider. Able just giggled and shook her head before turning to the teacher who began speaking up front. Rikash gave her one of his winks before turning to pay attention as well.

xXx

"So did you find anything?" Marcase asked Numair in his office after the pages had left.

"It was strange. I had some difficulty getting through at first, and then once I did nothing really made sense. It was like looking through something foggy. I tried to sense any magic, but didn't find any so I put her in immortal studies. It was very strange." He paused going off to his own thoughts.

"This is getting more and more interesting by the minute." Marcase said running his hands through his hair.

"Are you going to confront her?" Numair asked.

"No we have someone watching over her. For now we sit and wait until we find out something new."

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ok chapter seven is done. Review and let me know what you think. Ill try and update a little quicker next time. Hope you enjoyed it.


	8. Meeting Sir Owen

Woh sry again guys, took a lot longer then I thought to write this. Things got pretty busy this weekend and I had to figure out what I wanted to include in this chapter. Well here it finally is. Hope you like it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Immortals studies turned out to be not so bad. Lord Bircham wasn't the most interesting of teachers, but he really knew what he was talking about and had many personal stories to include with the lessons. For homework they had to write about what they had already known about the creatures they had studied in class and what they had just recently learned about them.

"Want to meet up later to work on this? I may have zoned out once in a while." Rikash said with a yawn.

"Sure last night we met up in Cala's room to do homework. Tonight we can meet up in mine." Able replied picking up her things.

"Sounds good. Tye?" Rikash asked as thy left the room. She nodded in agreement. "Alright then after dinner we will all meet up in your room Able." Before they parted to go to their next classes Rikash turned around quickly and took a hand from each of them. After a quick kiss to each hand he said, "Farewell ladies" and headed in the opposite direction the girls were going. Able giggled.

"He is such a flirt." She said and turned around to see him turn a corner and go out of site. She turned back and leaned in to whisper to Tye. "Kinda cute though." Able said with another one of her giggles. Tye just smirked.

xXx

The rest of the classes went on as normal. After meeting back up with Cala and Leo they told them that they would be meeting in Able's room to do homework that night. Tye missed the battle strategies class and the fun way Sir Ornic taught since the other teachers had fairly dull classes, but at least they would see him tomorrow. Etiquette class seemed the longest. It was only the second day and already it was the least favorite class of all the pages. They were quizzed on their bows and given a lot of information on proper greetings. They had the most homework of all in that class.

Finally they got to take a break from classes and have lunch. After everyone was seated they all dug in and ate feverously, that is, everyone but the first years who appeared completely exhausted. Rikash turned and laughed.

"Guess you guys haven't gotten used to the pace yet huh?" He said happily. Cala and Able glared at the overly energetic boy. Leo was asleep on the table. Cala reached across and shook him awake.

"Better eat up." She said and went back to eating.

"Don't worry you guys will fall into the rhythm soon." Rikash said before sneaking some food from Able's plate while she was distracted, talking with Cala and Camric to the left. Susan who sat on the other side of him, hit his arm before he could eat any. Across from Susan, Yani laughed quietly. Tye found herself liking this playful group more and more.

xXx

"I'm still so sore from yesterday." Leo complained as they lined up once more for stretches. The girls nodded in agreement. Even after her morning stretches Tye's body still was sore in a few places. The wolf looked out at the grimacing faces and laughed loudly.

"Alright we are going to do a warm-up run around the fields and then split up into pairs." He said and he led them through stretches. The class went by fairly quickly. He went through several more moves that they were supposed to practice that night before he dismissed them to weapons training. Tye waved at him before leaving and he smiled in return. He seemed pretty nice and hadn't mentioned what happened once since after the racing event when he talked to her.

When they arrived on the second field a large man with thick brown curls on his head stood in the center with the practice sticks already laid out. The first and second years stood in a group in front of him. He kept a large smile on his face while he waited for them all to arrive.

"Welcome everyone I am Sir Owen of Jesslaw." He said introducing himself. "I am sorry that I could not be here for your first day. I got hung up in a few towns over and couldn't get back in time." He bent over and picked up one of the sticks.

"Now I want you all to know that I was not always good at fighting with one of these." He said twirling it around a bit. "In fact had a good friend of mine not taking time out of her day to train me and others like me, I would not be half as good as I am today. You may have heard of her, Lady Kel." Sir Owen stated a small smile on his face. His grey eyes looked out through the crowd as he reminisced a moment. "First why don't we go over what you all did yesterday." The second years paired up together and the first years paired up. He moved some around as he watched them practice to see who would work better with whom. Tye was paired with a second year named Simon who did not seem thrilled with being partnered with her. He looked familiar to Tye. He had dirty blond hair that was pulled back into a pony tail and dark brown eyes that were almost black. He sneered at her which made her remember where she knew him from. He was the other boy that hung around with Ronald. He was the one next to Timoty who hadn't spoken. He was a little rough during the practice, purposefully hitting her knuckles at times causing her to flinch, but nothing that would draw attention to himself. He knew Sir Owen would not look kindly on someone picking on the outcast of the group, seeing as how he was friends with Lady Kel.

It turned out Sir Owen was very energetic and loved to joke and tell stories while they practiced. Even though everyone was sweaty and worn out by the end of the class, they were all upset to leave. He just smiled and waved them off. A few first and second girls giggled, Able included, waved shyly, and went off whispering about him. Rikash noticed this and went over to Able.

"I'm better looking then he is aren't I?" He asked with a playful pout, still panting from the workout from weapons class. He swung an arm over her shoulders. Tye saw the small blush on Able's cheeks. Able Giggled and push him away.

"You wish." She said with a smile and took off running to the barn. Rikash laughed and took off after. Cala and Leo looked at one another and started running too. Tye just smiled and jogged a little to the barn.

When she arrived Able and Rikash were panting trying to catch their breaths.

"Ok racing after two combat classes is not a good idea." Rikash said doubled over.

A young man with straight brown hair and bright blue eyes came out from one of the stalls. Cala and Able shared a look and smiled. Rikash rolled his eyes before leaning in to whisper to Tye.

"How can I compete with this?" He said shaking his head. Tye couldn't help but laugh a little at that. He seemed pleased with this and began to smile again.

"Hello everyone, my name is Sir Daniel. I will be your horseback riding instructor. I was told yesterday Daine helped you pick out your horses correct?" he asked and they all nodded. "Alright well everyone go saddle up your horses. If you need help either ask me or one of the second years." Tye went around to the other side of the barn to Corm's stable.

"Hey Corm." She said before opening his door. She picked up his saddle and started to get him ready. It took her a few tries, but finally she got it right. He just snorted at her, seemingly amused at her difficulty. Tye just smiled and patted his neck. Sir Daniel came around to check on her.

"Oh good you figured it out. Well we are all going out to the field now." He told her. Tye nodded and led Corm out onto the field. They did the same and yesterday pretty much, going around the outside of the circle, practicing adjusting the speed and direction. Leo was in front of her working with Midnight. At one point one of the pages cut him and Midnight off in the line, making Midnight startle and move backwards and to the sides. He ran into Corm at one point who was not at all happy and was getting ready to bite him had Sir Daniel not come over to calm down the horses. He finally dismissed them and Tye was glade to find that no one had messed up Corm's stall. She brushed him down, making sure to get off all the dirt. Corm seemed to be warming up to her. He liked the fact that she wouldn't leave him dirty and would make sure the water wasn't too cold. Tye was just glade to find an animal that didn't react badly to her being around. She said farewell and went to go wash off quickly in the woman's baths. The wolf stopped her before she entered the baths.

"Hello Tye." He called out catching up to her.

"Hello." She replied wondering what he had stopped her for.

"Listen I don't want to make you late, but I needed to speak to you. Some of your teachers have been noticing a few things about you." He began. When he saw her stiffen he quickly explained. "Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to you. I just wanted to let you know and tell you that if there is anything that you would like to talk about you can always come to me and I will help you in any way I can." Tye calmed and smiled at him. A real, genuine smile.

"Thank you Iban Taltak, I may take you up on that sometime." She said before turning to go into the bath house. Iban stood there dazed. For a moment her voice had sounded so different. He shook his head and walked away. At least she knew that she could come to him. Maybe she would and the mysteries surrounding her would finally be revealed.

xXx

After Tye had finished dressing she went to leave her room. Lyn stood outside about to knock as she opened the door. She held a basket in her hand full of cloths.

"Oh hello Tye. I was just going around taking laundry and cleaning up a bit. You go on ahead to dinner. I will lock up after I am done." She said and smiled. Tye hesitated a moment before nodding and leaving. Lyn watched her go before hurrying inside.

xXx

Tye knew she had to hurry. Dinner would be starting in a few minutes and she didn't want to be late again. She jogged quickly through the empty halls.

Before she knew it, she was falling foreword and slamming her arm into the floor when she tried to block her fall. A deep chuckling came from behind her.

"Why Tye, you should be more careful." Ronald said appearing from a side hallway. He stepped over her fallen body and walked into the dining hall. Tye picked herself up wincing when she used her left arm. It felt sprained. She moved it around a bit, but that didn't help. Finally she just went into the dining hall, just making it on time, and got her food with her right hand, carrying her tray with it as well. She sat down and smiled at Able across from her.

"There you are I was worried you would be late again." She noticed Tye holding her arm at an angle right under her chest. "What happened to your arm?" She asked taking a bite of food. Rei stopped eating and turned to look.

"Oh I rode corm inside and accidentally hit my arm against the side of his stall." Tye said with a shrug. She cast a glance at Rei to see if he would comment, but he didn't say anything.

"Just looks sprained." He said before he cleared his thought and went back to eating. "You should go to the healer. He will fix it."

"Thank you for your concern Alhaz," She emphasized his last name. "But I am fine." Rei just grunted and ignored her the rest of the meal. Everyone sensed the tension between the two of them and quickly went to change the topic.

"So after homework Able and I are going to cut our hair off." Cala told Tye. Able pouted.

"Aw, but I like your guys' hair." Rikash said giving a strand of hair from both of them a tug.

"I'm going to miss having long hair, but I know it would be easier to manage." Able said with a sigh.

"Don't worry Able. Out of all the girls at the table, you will still be one of the prettiest." Rikash said and patted her shoulder. Able blushed. Cala, Susan, and Yani glared at him. He just sunk down a little lower in his seat to hide form him.

"It was a complement to make her feel better, no need to get so upset. You know all you girls at the table are the prettiest girls in the realm." He said quickly. This seemed to satisfy them. He grinned relieved and proud of himself for getting out of that one. Tye smiled to herself.

Afterwards they all walked together back to Able's room. Rei, Susan, and Yani sat in one corner working together, since they had different work being third years. Rikash and Camric worked together on their second year homework and were later joined by the prince Jonen who had come looking for them to help him out with a few math problems. Cala, Able, Leo, and Tye finished up their first year homework fairly quickly. They split off later to work on their immortals and magical studies work, which Rikash joined them for.

Once they all finished Susan and Yani had Cala and Able sit in the middle of the room. Cala sat excitedly as he sister Yani took out a dagger and shopped off her hair until it was just to her ears. Able had her hands covering her face the whole time. Her eyes were tear-filled when her sister Susan finally finished. She looked at the other questionably.

"You look even better." Rikash shouted with a smile, finally breaking the silence. "You both do." He added in quickly before Cala could get upset at him. "Well it is defiantly passed my bed time." He said and picked up his books. They all said goodnight and left to go the their rooms. Tye was exhausted and quickly changed and fell asleep alsmot as son as she hit her pillow.

xXx

"I didn't find anything in her room really." Lyn said to Marcase in his office late at night. It had become a constant thing for him these past few nights to have these late meetings. "She didn't have much clothing, which is a little strange since she did come from a wealthy middle class family, but not too unlikely. She did have a small box behind her cloths, but it was locked and I didn't want to make it look as thought I had broken into it. It's most likely just her spending money." Lyn just shrugged.

"Well thank you for coming and looking around. Maybe something will come up later." Marcase said and dismissed her. This Tye girl was hiding something, and he would find out what it was.

xXx

Ok chap.8 done! Finally! Ok to clear a few things up…

The academic classes are taught by grade. So first years and just with first years, second years with second years and so on. The second half of the day, combat classes and horseback riding, are split into two groups, First and second years together and third and fourth years together. That is why Rikash is with them during some of their classes and not the academic ones.

Now the seating at the table goes…

Susan : Rikash : Able : Cala : Camric

Yani : Rei : Tye : Leo : Jonen (When he sits with them)

Ok next chapter will be up in a few days. Let me know what you think. Feel free to review and let me know if I have messed up anywhere as well.


	9. Free Day

Ok I had just sent out the 8th chapter when I saw a review that said I had become known as a slow updater. AHHHHH. I have become something I hate. So now I must give you all sumthing special! For the next three days I will come out with a new chapter everyday.

Also for your presents:

The freeday will be happening in this chapter.

A homecoming ball to bring in more yayfullness

and lastly another cuddly character for all u readers to play with.

And if you all are very good I will include more information about Tye and who she really is!

Ok this is what happens to writers when they are running on four cans of diet pepsi (my addiction) and a plate of apple crisp. So please forgive my hyperness.

Alright now. And onto the chapter!

xXx

Tye awoke early as usual the next morning. Her arm was a bit stiff. She had tied it to her chest to keep it from being injured further in her sleep. After untying it, she wiggled her fingers and extended her arm. It was a little sore, but not too bad, should be almost back to normal by hand to hand combat. Ronald and his gang were smart. They knew not to leave marks in visible places. She would have to be more careful and pay more attention when she was alone in the halls. She had a feeling they would not give up so easily.

xXx

The next few days went on relatively normal. She had a few incidents with Ronald in the hallways when they would catch her off guard, but she had gotten fairly good at avoiding them. That is except in class where she would constantly "loose" things. Sometimes it was even her homework and she was assigned extra work for not having it to turn in. At first her friend gave her strange looks and said they remembered doing it with her. She just said she hadn't finished and shrugged off their comments. Finally they just grew used to it.

Besides that everything else was going fine with her. Their nightly meetings for homework became a tradition and she would hang out with the group every night. It was her favorite part of the day. Even though she didn't talk very much with them, she still enjoyed having company and being accepted with the people around her.

Finally it was the free day. Tye woke up early so she could finish her hour of armor cleaning in enough time to meet everyone in town. They had all planned to meet up at a restaurant for lunch after they had all walked around town a bit. The first years were required to go with their sponsors. Another reason she was going early was so that she wouldn't make Rei any latter setting out then possible. He still hadn't talked with her at all since they had their fight. She was a little worried about how they would react around each other. She sighed and quickly got dressed.

She went right to work at the armory. Working quickly and thoroughly, she was allowed to leave a few minutes early. Covered in sweat she headed to the bath house to wash off first. She dried her hair and walked back to her room at the same time. At her door she was surprised to see Rei standing tapping his foot impatiently. He didn't say anything, just glared at her for making him late, while she walked over and unlocked her door.

He was dressed in dark blue cloths that fit him nicely. She could tell the material was expensive. He followed her in and took a seat at her desk while she went around putting on her shoes and brushing though her hair. Since they were just going into town she didn't bother putting it up, like she had gotten in the habit of doing for combat practice. Once she was done getting ready she opened her dresser and pulled out the wooden box in back.

Rei sighed loudly, clearly upset for having to shorten his free day.

"Aren't you done yet?" he finally asked.

"You have only missed an hour. And yes I was just getting some spending money. Then we can go." She moved so that she blocked his view of the box. She placed her palm on the top and waited a moment until she heard a soft click. She tipped back the top slightly and took out a few coins. It would be plenty for lunch and anything else she would want. She quickly closed it back up, waited for the small click that told her it locked again and replaced it in back of her drawer.

"Ok ready." She said. He just took off out the door and she followed behind trying to keep up.

Once they made it into town Rei broke away and walked briskly over to a group of people he knew. She turned and looked around for Able, Cala, and Leo. She finally found them at a stall a little ways away.

"There she is!" Able greeted her energetically. "We were wondering when you would be able to come into town." They all wore casual clothing. Tye still wore one of her pages outfits. It was all she had.

"So did you have anywhere you wanted to go?" Cala asked as they began walking together.

"I was to get some bruise balm. I got tossed of Midnight two times this week." He said rubbing his sore back. The girls laughed at him.

"I was thinking about getting some more cloths. I didn't bring very much with me as you can see." Tye said indicating her pages outfit. Cala and Able looked at one another.

"Well close to the palace the stores can be pretty expensive. Further into town and we will find good stores with good prices." Able said and smiled thinking she had come up with a good plan. Tye stopped walking.

"I didn't know you guys thought like that." Tye said slightly disappointed that they would think she had to go to the poor part of town. "I'll meet up with you guys at lunch." She said and walked off. Able stood gaping after her unsure of what to say.

xXx

Tye had finished all the cloths shopping she needed. She carried the bundle under her arm as she walked out of the last store glade she was finally done. Across the road she saw Jonen, surrounded by guards, with Rikash, Susan, Yani, and Rei. A younger boy stood nearby. He had dirty blond curls on his head and light green eyes. She was about to turn away when she saw him slowly backing up. The guards were talking with Jonen and didn't notice him sneaking away. Figuring that he may be someone important to Jonen she followed him, keeping out of sight.

The boy didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, just wandering around going to different stalls. He grinned the whole time pleased with himself. Tye watched as he stood next to two men playing a game involving sticks. She had seen people playing the betting game before. She saw them invite him to play "Just for fun." She heard one say and moved a bit closer. He didn't quite understand and had lost three times in a row.

"Well I have to go back now. Thank you for letting me play." The boy said and stood up to leave. The larger of the two men put a hand on his should and made him sit back down. He looked at them confused.

"You lost three times in a row. Time to pay up." The other thin and boney man said holding out his hand.

"But I thought you said just for fun." The boy said.

"You had fun didn't you?" The big man asked a hand still on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry but I don't have any money." The boy said shaking and close to tears.

"Well that is unfortunate." The boney man said pulling out a dagger. Tye had seen enough by that point and walked over to the table. She gripped the boney man's wrist tightly until he was forced to let the dagger go.

"How about this? I play three games. If I win two out of three you pay us double. If I lose two out of three I pay you triple what he owes you?" She offered. "Sound fair?" The possibility of winning three times as much was too great and they both quickly agreed and shook on it. She sat down next to the boy, in between him and the large man who had been holding him down. She patted his knee to comfort him slightly and to try and stop the tears that were pouring out of his eyes.

This first game, Tye was still learning to play and lost quickly. The second game took a little bit longer, but she managed to win by a tiny bit. On the last game it was over very quickly. Both men looked up to an emotionless face.

"Well that was exciting." She said and held out her hand. "At east we had fun right?" The grumbled and handed her over the coins which she quickly put in her coin purse.

"Well come on boy, we better be heading back." She gripped his arm firmly and dragged him away. "Keep right by me." She whispered. Men like that did not like to lose. She walked quickly wanting to get back to the guards. Once the men saw the guards, they would leave them alone. She knew they were right behind her, waiting for a moment to take back what had been theirs. She saw the small restaurant up ahead that they were supposed to be meeting at around this time. She propelled them quickly inside to come face to face with the four guards. Tye turned to see the men run off.

"Myles." Jonen shouted and brushed past the guards to grab the younger boy. "Where did you go? I turned around and you were gone. Mom and dad would kill me if anything happened to you!" He exclaimed. Tyes eyes widened slightly. The boy was the younger prince.

"Oh I was alright. This girl here brought me back. There were these guys that were going to kill me!" he started rambling on about what had happened. Jonen looked up with a grateful look in his eyes.

"Thank you Tye for saving my brother." He said standing back up. Tye just shrugged it off.

"I just passed by and saw him." She turned to go into the restaurant and to her friends but paused, reached into her coin purse and pulled out half of what she had won. Going over to Myles she handed him the coins.

"Half for you." She said with a smile and walked into the restaurant. It was a pretty good amount of money and Myles starred wide eyed after her.

"So you are alright then?" Jonen asked again.

"yea. Guess I shouldn't have walked off." Myles said looking down. "At least I got to meet Tye though." He said a dreamy look in his eyes. The Guards and Jonen burst out laughing.

"Come on lover boy, lets get some lunch." Jonen said ruffling his hair.

xXx

"Tye!" Able shouted from a table in the back. Everyone from their normal table sat around it already eating. She found an empty chair near the end and sat down. "I was afraid you wouldn't come because of what I said. I am so Sorry!" Able said teary eyed. "I hadn't thought before I spoke. You know I don't think of you that way."

"That's alright." Tye said looking over the menu for what she wanted to eat.

"So you aren't mad at me?" Able asked. The table had gone quiet wondering what had happened.

"No." She said simply and went back to her menu. Able let out a relieved sigh. Camric leaned over to Leo and they had a whispered discussion. After a few minutes everyone knew what had happened. Tye ignored their looks and ordered some food from the waitress who walked by. Jonen and Myles walked over a few minutes later.

"Oh good you found him. I knew you would." Rikash said and smiled.

"Yea thanks to Tye here." He said and patted her on the shoulder. She didn't react just took a drink of her water, hoping that they would let it go. Of course they didn't and soon Myles was telling the story to everyone, loudly. After e finished he stood next to Tye. She turned to see what he wanted.

"Would you…I mean is this….Can I sit here?" he asked pointing to the seat next to her. There were a few chuckles from the table, Jonen hide his smile behind his hand.

"Sure." Tye said and turned to her food that had just been placed in front of her. She didn't like so much attention. They seemed to sense that and went onto other topics.

She couldn't help but notice Myles watching her closely the whole time. It made her slightly uncomfortable and others laugh. She hoped her would get over this little crush soon.

xXx

And there you have it chapter 9. You got the free day and a cuddly character to play with all in one chapter. Review and let me know what you think.


	10. Hazing in the Stables

Sorry guys. I had this chapter ready a few days ago but fanfiction was not working on my comp for sum reason. Well I hope you like it.

xXxXxXxXxXxXx

News about what Tye had done had spread quickly. It didn't help that Myles was constantly telling people. By the time they had returned to the castle all the other pages knew. Some can over and congratulated her on a job well done. Others chose to glare at her the whole time, mostly Ronald and his gang. She knew that this would just cause her more trouble with them.

Tye broke off from the rest of the group when they were heading back to their dorms. She liked being with them a lot, but she still needed some time on her own and she was getting a little tired of all the attention. She decided to ride Corm a bit; he would like to get out some probably.

The stables were empty when she arrived and she headed to the back where Corm was circling around in his stall.

"Hey there." She said opening the door. "Feel like going for a little run?" Tye asked saddling him up. Grabbing the reins she led him out of the stable. Once they walked out of the large doors she stopped them and climbed up.

"How about you lead today? I usually tell you where to go, so you can today." Tye said and loosened her grip on the reins. Corm seemed to think a moment before jolting forward running onto the field. Tye laughed and just let him lead.

It felt like flying. The wind rushing past her ears, Corm running and leaping below her. Her surroundings were a blur. She didn't know how long he ran until he slowed down panting.

"He's pretty fast." A deep voice said from the fence surrounding the field. He was fairly tall with bright red hair. "You must be Tye, correct?"

"Yes." She said cautiously.

"Oh I'm sorry. My name is Sir Merric. My daughter Able has told me about you." He said with a smile.

Tye nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"Is Able back yet? I came in early for the Homecoming Ball, hoping to have some time to spend with her before." Sir Merric explained.

"Yes she is back from town now." She told him. "Homecoming Ball?"

"Oh I guess they haven't talked to you about that yet. They will at dinner tonight no doubt. Well it was nice to meet you Tye." He said with a nod and left.

"How about we head back in Corm?" She said and patted his neck.

Once they reached the doors she jumped down. After grooming him thoroughly and closed the door and turned to leave.

"Think you're special now?" A cold voice said form behind her. She turned to see Ronald, along with Timotie and Simon. The girl who was with them sometimes was not there.

Tye just rolled her eyes at the comment and turned to leave. Timotie moved till he was blocking her way. She turned to go the other way and Simon stopped her. With no where to go she stood there and waited to see what they would do.

"Well Hero," he said with a sneer, "let's see how tough you really are. Going up against two grown men, the three of us should be a piece of cake for you." Before she knew what was coming his fist connected with her stomach. She wheezed and tried to catch her breath quickly. He charged at her, but she stepped aside at the last moment and spun to kick him in the back. He slammed into the wooden stall. She was caught in the middle of her back by another fist. She fell to the ground and was immediately kicked in the stomach several times. Dirt was kicked up in here eyes. She couldn't see and they were everywhere. She didn't know how to get away.

"Hey!" A voice shouted through the chaos. Rei stood holding the reins of a large light brown almost grey horse. "That's enough leave." His voice was commanded and didn't leave any room for argument.

"You were lucky this time." Ronald spat before he and the other two boys left. Rei dropped the reins and walked over to her.

"You alright?" Rei asked kneeling down. She blinked a couple of times to try and focus. "We should get you to the healer." He said when he noticed her having trouble focusing.

"No I am fine." Tye said and sat up. Corm was upset and pacing in his stall. She stood up and walked over to him, brushing her fingers against his nose. This time he didn't shove it away. She smiled a bit at him. Brushing off some dirt from her cloths she turned back to Rei.

"Thank you for helping me." She said and turned to leave. He stomach and back were sore, but as long as she didn't breath deeply while she walked it was bearable. Rei wasn't sure if he should just let her walk off without seeing the healer, but if she said she was fine and she was walking properly then she was probably ok.

Tye went to the baths first to wash off the dirt and grim from her body. She laid down in her bed until dinner to try and heal up some before she had to move around again. She didn't want to have to explain how she had gotten hurt.

That night at dinner Marcase announced that in one week they would be having a homecoming dinner and ball, where parents could mingle and talk with teachers and see the progress of their children. It was a new tradition that Raul had started a few years ago. The third and fourth years would be serving while the first and second years would be handing out the plates to the servers. Tye could already tell that Etiquette class would be very serious that week. Lady Minorum was a perfectionist and would not rest until they all had everything down perfectly.

xXx

Tye was still healing two days later. Ronald and his group had decided to give her yesterday off from their tormenting, letting her think over if she really wanted to be here. Etiquette class had been as expected, constant facts and bows to remember. Tye wasn't sure how much more pressure could be put on the pages who were having trouble keeping up.

Her back and stomach were much better, only hurting when she turned too much. She was very thankful that Rei had been there, she didn't know what would have happened if he hadn't stepped in. She was surprised that he would scare them off so easily. Rei was not as large as Ronald. He was lean, not as bulky. But they seemed to be afraid of him. Maybe he was stronger then he looked.

The second day had been going normally. She had received a little hazing, papers and such being taken, but that was normal. She was sitting with Rikash and Able, talking quietly in immortal studies when the teacher stood up to begin the lesson.

"This week I thought we would learn about a topic that has recently come under a lot of debate by seers. It is a prophecy that was thought to be incorrect until people started hearing rumors and events started happening that the prophecy predicted. It was called the Prophecy of the sisters." He paused to let them take notes. Tye sat stiffly in her chair. "It was prophesized that five girls would be born with the blood of an immortal, each symbolizing an element; earth, air, fire, water, and a fifth one which has the powers of each to balance out the other four. For earth a spidren, for air a griffin, for fire a phoenix, for water a mer-creature, and for the fifth sister a dragon. It says that when the girl has gotten full control of her powers, she will be able to completely transform to and from the immortal shape. Until then she will exhibit superior speed, strength, and a strong magical gift related to her element. Also she will take on characteristics of the immortal creature. It is said they were all taken and locked away within a castle to train and learn until they day that they would fight the darkness. It does not give this darkness a name." He talked more about the sister and the prophecy until the bell rang.

Tye had been gripping her writing utensil tightly throughout the whole lesson. Rikash noticed and put a hand on her shoulder before she left the room.

"Are you alright?" He asked worried.

"I am fine." She said and left the room quickly, for once looking forward to Etiquette class.

xXx

ok that's it for now. Since I was so late updating I gave away a little hint about Tye earlier then I had planned. Next chapter will be longer since it will be about the ball. Review and let me know what you think.


	11. The Ball part 1

Sorry guys. I have had to work late the last couple of days and I've been so tired.

I will be doing this ball in two parts since I just don't have time to write it all out. I will send the second part in tomorrow, but I really wanted to get as much of this out as I could.

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Tye had been acting strangely in immortal studies the rest of the week as they studied the prophecy. Her friends figured it was nerves about the ball. It was three days before the ball that Able confronted her about it. Ever since they visit to town she had been very careful when speaking to Tye. They were in Etiquette class practicing passing plates without spilling the food.

"Do you have everything you need for the ball?" Able asked.

"Yea I think so." Tye said. "Marcase let me go into town yesterday and I picked up the last few things I would need."

"Good I don't think he would have wanted to deal with Lady Minorum if you didn't have the proper cloths to wear." She said and giggled, which drew a stern glare from their instructor.

xXx

The day had gone on as usual. Tye found herself getting a little tired of the same schedule everyday. She was on her way back when she saw Miss Sanders walking down the hall. With Lyn doing everything around their rooms, she had not seen Miss Sanders that much.

"Oh, hello there Tye." Miss sanders greeted with a large smile.

"Um could I ask you for a favor?" Tye asked quietly.

"Of course, it's what I'm here for." She replied, blue eyes sparkling.

"Well I can't really sew of anything. I have a dress for the ball part of the evening, but I was wondering if you could help size it to me better." Tye asked. "I really don't know how to sew or fix cloths at all."

Miss sander thought a moment. "Well I can do something better. I know a woman in town who would be happy to fix the dress up for you. She worked under a very famous seamstress. Lalassa I think her name was. Let me take your measurements then I will take the dress to her and she will have it ready the day before the call." Tye sighed relieved.

xXx

Everyone was frantic the day of the dinner and ball. Servants ran around putting up the finishing touches on the castle for the night.

Lady Minorum had the pages come to her room a few hours before the dinner to make sure they were ready. All of them had been given matching page uniforms to wear. They had a small practice before they were sent to the dining room to get into their places.

"Remember that if you spill anything or mess this up in anyway, you will have two hours with me on your next free day." Lady Minorum warned them before they left.

The first and second years were in a hallway that led to the kitchens, hidden from view. They couldn't see the guests out in the dining room but they could hear them. Everyone was stiff and nervous, but so far nothing had gone wrong.

Tye calmed after a while, thinking that nothing would go wrong now that it was almost over. Unfortunately at that moment, she had thought the server had taken the plat but it began to fall towards the floor in-between her hands. She went to catch it quickly not wanting it to crash and make a scene. One hand went on the bottom, while the other one landed right in the middle of the food causing it to splash up. She looked up to see Ronald smirking until he saw that food had gotten on him as well. He eyes became clouded with fury. If Lady Minorum had not come over at that moment then he probably would had attacked her. She told Ronald to take Rikash's place and Rikash would serve for him.

"I'll get you back for this." He whispered before taking his place.

xXx

The rest of the dinner had gone without any problems. And Tye was very relieved when it was finally over. Her arms were tired from constantly holding plates.

Lady Minorum talked to Ronald about the two hours on free day first, before she came over to Tye. He left giving her a sneer.

""On you next free day report to my room after breakfast." Lady Minorum explained what she and Ronald would be doing before she finally let Tye go. They had an hour before they had to report to the ball. She knew it wouldn't take that long for her to get ready so she didn't rush.

She could hear the furious movements of Able and Cala trying to get ready in time. She smiled before unlocking her own door and going inside.

A cool breeze hit her face. That was strange she had closed the window. She walked over and closed the window and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. She clamed and went over the covered dress that was laid across her chair. She had looked at it the night before and was very happy with how it turned out. She lifted the cloth that covered it and gasped.

It was ripped and smeared with dirt. This must have been Ronald's revenge. She sighed and looked down. Disappointed that she would not be able to go to the ball she went to go settle on her bed and read. That would keep her mind off of it. She had just sat down when there was a knock on the door before it opened and Miss Sanders came in.

Her smile faded when she saw Tye sitting on the bed. She turned and saw the dress lying on the chair.

"I was afraid something like this would happen." She said shaking her head. "Come with me. Good thing I had a little something extra made for you just in case."

Tye didn't know what to say.

"Oh don't you worry about paying me back either. My friend was happy to make this special dress for a low price." She told Tye with another smile. "These other girls have families that provide for them and could get them another hundred dresses if they wanted. You on the other hand have to do it all yourself. You deserve a little something now and again." She said with her motherly smile. Tye was speechless. No one had ever done something like this for her before. Miss Sanders honestly cared about her. She felt tears prickling her eyes and shot off the bed and into Miss Sander's arms to hide them and show he thanks.

"Thank you." She whispered. "No one has ever done anything like this for me before."

Miss Sanders rubbed her back before they parted from their hug. "I was happy to do it. Now come on we don't have much time." She grabbed Tye's arm and rushed out the door.

xXx

Ok next chapter with ball part 2 will be out tomorrow. Sorry again. Things have just been so busy. Well review and let me know what you think.


	12. The Ball Part 2

Hey we got stuck in this huge snow storm and my electricity was all funky, so I wanst aloud on the comps.

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Each year would enter the ball room in rows of two. Tye rushed down the halls and was just in time to silently step into the end of the first year rows. The number was uneven so she had to stand by herself in the middle of the back.

She thought about going to Miss Sander's room and seeing the dress. Miss Sanders had laughed at her gaping face before rushing around trying to get her ready. Tye had remembered smiling as she watched the woman rush around. She had kind of liked someone fussing over her a bit.

Her friends hadn't noticed her yet since she had slipped in quietly, but once they all had walked in they were allowed to do as they wanted. She saw her normal table group all standing in a circle and walked over hesitating slightly before she made it to them. She didn't particularly like wearing these very feminine and beautiful dresses. Tye was more comfortable in pants and a loose shirt, not the tight and low cut bodice of the dress.

Camric was the first one to notice her. He was sipping a drink and immediately started choking.

"You alright?" Rikash asked before he looked at what Camric had seen. He gaped causing everyone else to turn to her. Tye started fidgeting under their gaze. They were used to seeing her in loose pants and shirts, her hair tied up in a bun with loose hairs. Tonight the dress was black and green, contrasting greatly with her pale skin and matching her bright green eyes. Her dark black hair was loose with wide curls cascading down her back perfectly.

Cala and Able had dresses much like hers, but Cala's was dark red with pink and Able's was dark blue with a lighter blue as well. All the boys had dark colored tunics.

Rikash was the one to break the silence. "Tye you look absolutely beautiful." He said with a bow taking her hand and kissing it. She just laughed slightly and pulled her hand away. She caught Able's angry look out of the corner of her eye, but decided to ignore it. They were all just reacting so strongly because she didn't usually look this way.

Everyone started talking once again and Tye stood quietly not wanting to bring too much attention to herself once more. She noticed Rei was not with them and looked around the room for him.

Rei was talking to an older man whose back was towards her. She assumed it was his father. He caught her eye and paused in mid speech. Shaking his head he started talking to the man again, but apparently he had seen because he turned around to see what had caused his son to pause. She met hard, cold eyes, on a face almost as handsome as Rei's. She tore her eyes away, now where had that thought about Rei come from?

She turned her attention back to the group. Able was ignoring her so she started talking with Leo and Cala. Some broke off for a few minutes to visit their families.

"Where is your family Tye?" Leo asked when Cala and Able walked off to visit their families.

"Oh they couldn't make it." She said and shrugged.

"Really? I mean this is kind of an important day for you." He said.

"Yea my dad came all the way from the border just to be here." Able said stepping back into the circle with Cala.

"Well my dad didn't have to come too far." Cala said and they all laughed. Her father was the palace healer.

"Well they are busy I guess." Tye said. The group dropped it after that. Jonen and Myles came over to them after they finished greeting people. As princes they had obligations at parties. Myles reacted even worse to the way Tye looked then any of the others had. He actually tripped over his feet as he walked over. Jonen caught his shoulder before he fell, but the others in their group had seen his reaction and knew what had caused it. They tried to stifle their laughter as he came over.

She tried her best to ignore his open mouthed gapping at her, but it was a little hard when he didn't even try to hide it. Tye would glance over at him every few moments to see if he had stopped, but it would just cause him to blush whenever their eyes met. She decided to let her attention wander to the other people who had come. Everyone was dressed so elegantly. The women all shown brightly with smiles and jewels and the men's rough laughter filled the air.

She was enjoying herself until she saw Ronald and his group glaring over at her. Apparently they had hoped their little trick would keep her from coming. She had to try very hard to keep the smirk from her emotionless face as her gaze passed over them.

Music started up a few minutes later. Myles' eyes went wide and he quickly tugged on his brother's sleeve. They whispered for a few moments before Jonen sighed and stepped over to Tye.

He let his dark silky hair run through his fingers, each strand falling back into place perfectly. His dark blue eyes caught hers before he let out a small smile that would have had any court lady buckling at the knees.

"May I have this dance?" He asked her. Knowing that you never refused the prince she nodded and accepted his hand. He led her out onto the dance floor and they fell into step with the other dancers. He was very good. Jonen knew all the steps and pulled them off perfectly. They had been dancing a few moments before he finally spoke.

"I have to admit there is a reason behind my asking you to dance first." Jonen said. Tye raised an eyebrow as he spun her. "You see, if you hadn't noticed, Myles is quite taken with you. You really made an impression with him that day in town. He hasn't been able to stop talking about you since." He said with a smile. "I was told to keep you occupied so that no one would be able to steal you away before he got up the nerve to ask you to dance." She laughed a bit. "I told him I would give him until the end of the first song. You see I can't dance with any girl more then the others or else it will draw suspicion. There already will be gossip with me choosing to dance with you first." He said rolling his eyes. "People just love to gossip about these things." Tye nodded in agreement. They finished the song and walked back to the group. "Well I am off to mingle a bit. See you all later." Jonen said before walking off, giving Myles a look.

Tye could tell one of the other guys were about to ask her to dance and Myles seemed to be shrinking away.

"Myles." She called out quietly. He froze and looked up at her. "Would you like to dance?" She asked. He nodded his head and followed her out onto the dance floor. His hands were shaking as they begun. "Take a deep breath and calm down." She said soothingly when she saw how nervous he was becoming.

"I don't like people staring at me." He said quietly. She knew that wasn't the only reason he was nervous.

"Well you are a prince. You need to get used to people looking at you." She said. "Besides they aren't staring, just watching us dance. And you are a very good dancer so you have nothing to be embarrassed about." She said and gave him a small smile. He brightened at this comment and he danced happily right up until the end when they returned to the group.

Tye quickly excused herself to get a drink before anyone else could ask her to dance. She went over to the refreshment table. She picked up one of the juice drinks and took a sip.

"Already going after both princes? Don't we have high goals?" An oily voice said from behind her. She turned around to face Ronald and his gang.

"Is there something you need?" She asked keeping her voice cool and emotionless.

"How about a dance? You seem to give them out so easily." He emphasized the last word.

"Oh I am terribly sorry, but I am exhausted from the last two dances. My apologies." She said and went to walk past them. He grabbed her arm.

"I see how it is. Because I am not a prince you refuse me?" He said hotly.

"A lady is allowed to refuse any man she chooses." A calm voice said a few feet away from them.

"She's no lady." Ronald said with a sneer at the boy.

Rei simply walked over and placed a hand on Tye's arm just above where Ronald gripped.

"If you will let go." Rei said. Ronald flung her arm out of his grip and Rei led her away.

She set her cup down and looked at her arm. There were red finger prints that she knew would bruise. Rei lifted up a hand and brushed against her skin along the marks.

"Why are they so afraid of you?" She asked looking up at him. He pulled his hand away and stood up straight.

"When I was a first year and he was a second year I beat him up so badly that he was in the infirmary for three days." Tye smiled. "It is good that he hasn't forgotten that. He underestimated me last time."

"Thank you for coming. I really didn't want to make a scene." He shrugged. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you always there to save me from them?" She asked. Rei always was there. Every time she would meet Ronald in the hallways or the barn, or even outside of the castle, Rei would be there to stop things before they went too far. "You don't seem to like me very much and yet you are always there."

He paused for a long time. "I don't know." He said simply before turning to walk away. She caught a flash of long silver hair in the crowd.

"Wait." She exclaimed suddenly. He froze. They were in a corner so there weren't that many people near them. "Stand in front of me for a minute." He looked at her strangely. "There is someone here I used to know. They can't see me." She said simply taking glances over her shoulder.

"Who?"

"It is kind of hard to explain." She began unsure of how to continue.

"Who?" He asked again.

"I don't know how to really explain it, but he isn't a good person. If he sees me it will cause a scene and people may get hurt. He won't care."

"Tye if he is really that bad then we have to tell someone."

"No." She grabbed his arm before he could leave. "I'll explain things better later; just don't let him see me right now. Please." He sighed.

"Alright, but you will be giving me the whole story later on." She nodded.

"Let's go out onto the balcony. It is dark he won't see you there." Rei said.

Staying close to the walls they made it to the balcony doors and slipped out. Tye let out a breath, relieved to be out of sight. She walked over to the edge and leaned against the banister, looking out on the grounds below. Rei stood next to her, waiting quietly for her to explain. She sighed before she spoke.

"I can't tell you everything right now." She began. "But I guess I should start by saying that he isn't really human."

"Then what is he?"

"Well, they call themselves Shadows."

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Ok Chapter 12 is done. I hop you liked it. Review and let me know what you think. I will update as soon as I can.


	13. Explanations

Sorry guys. Things have just been so busy lately I had to take a small break from writing this fanfic, but I'm back now. Sorry for making you guys wait so long. Well hope you like it.

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"Hey where did Tye go?" Rikash asked the group. She had left to get a drink a while ago and was still not back. Able tried to hold back her angry look.

"Probably out enchanting more boys with her new look." She said under her breath so no one could hear. Rikash quirked an eyebrow at her; obviously he had heard her. She turned away quickly hoping her would forget.

"Able how about a dance?" She fought to hide the blush she knew was about to spread across her face, when Rikash asked her.

"S-sure." She stumbled out before taking his hand and being led out onto the dance floor. They were quiet for a moment, simply dancing along with the other couples.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked. "You have looked a little upset this evening. Aren't you having a good time?" She swallowed and looked away.

"Yes." She said quietly. He waited until she turned back to him.

"Then what is the problem? Is it Tye?" He asked. Able turned away quickly embarrassed. She knew she was acting jealous but she couldn't help it. Everyone seemed so interested in Tye, even Rikash. When she didn't answer he nodded his head.

"You know the only reason people are reacting so much to Tye is because they are not used to seeing her look this way." He commented. She gasped and looked back at him. How had he known that was it? He grinned at her. "I thought that was it."

She wasn't used to Rikash acting this way. Normally he was always joking and flirting, now he seemed so understanding and kind. Able couldn't help but begin to like him even more.

He winked at her and whispered, "Now you look pretty all the time, so I am used to being awestruck by you and have learned to school my emotions." Now this was the Rikash she knew. Able giggled, letting her jealousy towards Tye go. How could she stay mad when Rikash was focusing all his attention on her like this.

_Across the room…_

Merric stood with Numair watching their children interact from across the room.

"Do I need to worry about my daughter?" He asked the mage.

"I always was good at charming the ladies. Like father like son I guess." The mage said proudly.

"That's what I was afraid of." Merric replied.

xXx

"Shadows?" Rei asked.

"Yes. That is what they are called because they aren't real. They only follow the orders of the Annadu that create them. Roughly translated, Annadu means givers of darkness, they are warriors for the most evil of things. They send shadows after anyone who they believe will hurt their plans."

"What is it they are planning?" Rei asked.

"Annadu feed off misery and pain. It is what gives them their powers, the pain that they cause to others. They take the life force from humans and creatures and bend it to their wills and the only way they can take it from you is if you have been through so much pain and torture that you give up on living. Think about a world that they control, a place of misery and torture and death. They would have a limitless source of power and what would stop them from spreading even further from here until they control everything."

Rei didn't know what to say. He always knew that there were evil people and creatures out there, but he had never imagined something like this.

"They have been around for thousands and thousands of years, but they seem to be more active as of late. I don't know what it means." She shivered, but not from the cold.

"What do they want with you?" He asked. Tye looked off in the distance a minute, thinking about how she should answer that without giving everything away.

"I know…things…people… who are fighting against them. They must want to find out what I know and use it to stop them."

"What will they do to you if they find you?" She looked up and locked eyes with him.

"Cause me enough pain until I give up on life, your spirit has to be completely broken for them to use you. Then they will take my life force, go through my memories and use it for whatever they want."

"Quite right my dear. My master will be very pleased when I bring you to him, completely broken in and ready for the taking." He said happily.

"Rei get out of here. He isn't human you can't fight him the normal way."

"I'm not leaving you." He said firmly.

"Oh how sweet." The man shook his head causing his long silver hair to wave back and forth. He looked human enough, but his eyes were black and lifeless.

He flicked his wrist and Rei went flying over the railing of the balcony. Tye didn't think twice and jumped off after him. She caught his unconscious body right before they hit the water. She came up gasping and quickly started swimming for the edge.

"You cannot run from me." He said simply before leaping off and landing on the waters surface without sinking, just as she made it to the edge. He walked slowly but purposefully towards them, in no rush.

Tye laid Rei's body out on the ground. He would be fine in a few minutes; he was not hit with too much power. The Annadu gave each shadow one special ability so that is could perform its duties, mostly the killing of certain people. This one, Tye guessed, could send out small amounts of energy. Not enough to kill someone, just enough to knock someone out for a few minutes.

It was so hard to move around in the dress now that it was wet. She didn't know how she had managed to swim in it, while it was lighter then most ball gowns, it still was fairly heavy.

Knowing that Rei would be fine since the shadow only wanted her, she took off towards the trees that were nearby.

"This is pointless I will catch you." His voice seemed to come from everywhere. The dress slowed her down. There was no way for her to outrun him. Something hit her in the back causing her to fall foreword. The world around her spun as she turned over to see the shadow looming over her. She felt dizzy and couldn't focus.

"You are weak and powerless. You could never have outrun me, little dragon." He taunted. He held out his hand ready to fire. Tye closed her eyes. This was it, she would fight, Tye knew she would, but in the end they always got what they wanted.

She could felt the energy building in his hand and waited for it to hit. Instead she heard an inhuman screech and opened her eyes just in time to see the shadow turn into black dust and be blown away in the breeze. She looked up to see Rei, eyes wide, standing right in front of where the shadows hand had been extended. He must have stepped in front at the last moment.

"Why… why aren't I dead or hurt?" he said turning to look at her, hands still shaking slightly.

"When you sacrifice yourself for someone else it goes against everything they gain their power from and causes the power that keeps the shadows alive to cancel."

"But wasn't I giving up on life?" He said kneeling down next to her to help her sit up. She was still a little dizzy from being hit.

"Yes, in a way. But you weren't doing it out of pain and misery, you were doing it out love and that is something they can not take away." She grabbed his hand. "But why would you sacrifice your life for me?" She asked. She couldn't understand him; he hates her, but protects her; he ignores her, but saves her. What was going on?

He sighed and squeezed her hand tighter. "I don't know." She couldn't help but laugh, remembering earlier how he had said the same thing about why he protects her from Ronald and his gang. He smirked and helped her up.

"Guess we can't head back to the party like this huh?" Tye said looking over their wet and muddy cloths. He snorted in agreement. "I'm sorry that you got involved and have to miss the rest of the ball." She said.

"Don't be" was all he said as they headed back to the castle together, neither one noticing that they still held hands tightly.

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Ok that's chapter 13! Hope you all enjoyed it. Review and let me know what you think.


	14. Stable Love

OK guys im updating as fast I can. Things are just so busy…Ick!

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The walk back to the castle had been completely silent. Tye was letting Rei have time to think over his thoughts. It was a lot to take in all at once. So far he had been handling things pretty well. In fact, it was starting to worry her how well. Most people who just found out that their world could be ending, possibly very soon, would react in some way. Instead he just looked thoughtful as he was walking.

"Do… do they come after you often?" he asked suddenly. This whole time he had been thinking about if he had gotten there a moment later. How could he protect her from things he didn't understand? And why did he want to protect her so badly? It was strange, no matter how hard he tried to ignore her or push her away this feeling would not go away. Whenever she was in trouble he would get this strange sensation and just feel pulled to go to her, even if he wasn't sure where she was. He had hoped that if he was mean to her and kept a distance between them, that this strange feeling would go away. But no matter what he did it hadn't. Now the thought of this new threat made his chest burn. He squeezed her hand tighter. As long as he held her hand, nothing bad could happen.

Tye noticed how tense he had become and felt his grip tighten. She didn't know how to make things better for him. She really shouldn't have involved him. It had been stupid. Now he was dealing with this when he should be concentrating on his knighthood. It wasn't his problem.

"Sometimes they do, if they find me that is." She said after a moment. "But you don't have to worry about that. I will take care of them. I am grateful for what you did, don't think I'm not, but I really should not have involved you. If you got hurt, or even worse, killed because of this, I would never forgive myself. You just worry about your knighthood. Besides we got rid of him so fast I don't think he had time to call for others." She looked over to him and smiled hoping to find him relieved. Instead he was frowning at her.

"What if I want to be involved in this?" He asked. _How could she think I would let her do this alone?_ She looked up at him shocked.

"You can't possibly want to be a part of this. This isn't some silly little game. If they find out you are helping me, they will not hesitate to kill you."

"It is my decision." He stated simply. "What greater cause to fight for, if not to save our world? It is what we are training to become knights for after all." He reasoned.

"Why would you want to purposefully endanger yourself when you don't have to?" She asked. "You wouldn't be able to tell anyone and constantly have to keep secrets. So why?" he couldn't possible really want this.

He seemed to think over his answer before turning back over to her. She caught a gleam in his eye before he opened his mouth to say, "I don't know." She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped before she covered her mouth. This was a serious matter and she shouldn't be laughing, but the tense mood was ruined so they both walked together silently again.

"He called you something." Rei said after a few moments. " 'little dragon' he said. Why?" Tye didn't answer. They had finally stopped fighting and she felt so close to him right now. She didn't want to ruin that and she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. He would know and that would only make things worse.

He stopped walking and tugged her back to him by her hand when she kept going. Tye looked at their hands, then at Rei and blushed. They had been holding hands the whole time. Slowly they let go. _Funny my hand seems empty now, _Tye thought.

Rei glared at her until she looked back.

"I told you before that I would not be able to tell you everything." She said. _I can't believe it. And things had been going so well. How can she still hide things from me?_ He thought getting angry.

"I thought that since we would be helping one another that you would tell me what is going on. I thought I could help you. I guess I was wrong. Excuse me." Was all he said before walking off.

She walked the rest of the way alone. _It is better this way._ She thought. _He won't get involved in something that is not his problem and he will be safe._ He eyes hardened. Things should never have gotten so far. She had told herself earlier not to get too close to people. This way just a slip. She would not make this mistake again. People could get killed if they got involved. This was her problem. She would fix it. _I will not cry. _She told herself keeping her eyes cold and emotionless. _I am strong. _She finally made it to her room. After stripping out of her wet cloths, she slipped on her sleeping outfit and lay down. _Dragons do not cry!_ As soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep.

xXx

They were given a free day the next day. Deciding to visit Corm and ride for a bit, she quickly left the breakfast table telling her friends that she would see them later. Rei had not sat at their table today.

She made it to the front when she saw Camric leaning against the door to the, looking in.

"What are you doing?" She asked after a moment.

He shot up quickly, blushing madly.

"N..nothing. There is just a new stablehand and I was just seeing what they look like.

"Oh really what is his name?" Tye asked. She had never been very close with Camric although he was always hanging out with her group, but she could tell something was up. His ears were red and he was stuttering.

"W…well her name is Esther Groomsman. Her father used to work here, Stefan, I think his name was. He was really good with horses. She seems to have this ability as well."

"Oh? Been watching her long?" Tye said, unable to help the small smile that appeared. She peered into the barn to see a girl around sixteen going around and giving horses food. She hummed a small tune as she worked, her long wavy brown hair flowing freely as she moved from one stall to another. Her skin was tanned from working outdoors and her eyes were a light brown. Camric was pretty tall for his age and well built from all the training, but she reached his height, he only had a centimeter or so on her. She wore tan riding pants with a dark green tunic.

"She's pretty." Tye commented after getting a good look at her. Camric got this dreamy look in his eyes before clearing his throat.

"Yea she's alright." He said looking away, his ears almost as bright as his red hair.

"Since you two have enough time to stand around outside of the barn, how about helping me get these horses fed?" Camric jumped a few feet in the air and ended up on his back on the ground. His face brightened even more if possible, completely embarrassed.

When Esther laughed he smiled though, pleased with himself.

"Hi I'm Esther." She said flashing them a smile.

"I'm Tye." She said shaking her hand.

Esther held out a hand for Camric to help him up. She pulled him up easily. Tye raised an eyebrow surprised by her strength. _Definitely stronger then she looks. _She pulled so hard, Camric ended up stumbling forward into her. Her caught her before she fell backwards, but this only caused her to be pushed against his chest with his arms around her waist. Camric's eyes got wide. Quickly he let go apologizing. She just laughed him off.

"No problem…." She said waiting for a name.

"C..Camric."

"Well C…Camric, how about helping me give the horses food? Tye?"

"Sure." Tye said and they followed her in. What else was there to do today anyways?

It turned out Esther really knew her stuff when it came to horses. Plus she was fun to be around. It was easy for Tye to forget all her problems, watching Camric stumble over himself trying to please Esther. She spent the rest of the day hanging out with them and riding Corm, who ended up taking to Esther quite well. By the time Tye finally got to bed that night, she was still smiling. Things were defiantly going to get interesting between the two and it would be fun to watch how things would unfold. She fell asleep quickly not letting herself think about Rei and how he was avoiding her.

xXx

Lyn walked down the hall towards Marcase's office. She had kept out of Tye's way, hoping that the girl would soon forget about her being there. She had found nothing of importance in Tye's room that would suggest that Tye was not what she seemed.

Lyn was about to tell Marcase this and have him end this assignment, when she overheard some of what was said between Tye and Rei that night in the forest. Now she knew something was defiantly up and she was going to find out exactly what it was.

xXxXxXxXx

OK all done! Finally! Let me know what you think. Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if it seems a little rushed.

The last part was written for a friend of mine who always helps me with little facts from the real books that I don't always remember.


	15. Back to Normal

Ok I was not happy with the last chapter. I was in a rush and it did not turn out how I wanted. Oh well hopefully I make up for it in this chapter!

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The next morning Tye woke up early as usual. She went through a few morning exercises before washing up and changing into her page's cloths. She ran a comb quickly through her hair before swiftly tying it up in a bundle. Just as she finished there was a soft knock at the door. She opened it to find a smiling Lyn.

"Good morning Tye." Lyn said with a smile. There was just something about Lyn that made Tye uncomfortable. She smiled a nodded before leaving the room quickly. Tye didn't notice Lyn watching her go down the hall, making sure she was out of sight before closing the door behind her.

xXx

The morning before not many people had been to breakfast because they had been out with there families, but today everyone but Rei was there. Even Jonen was there today. They smiled up at her as she sat down. The seat to her left was empty, that was Rei usually sat. Leo was unusually quiet to her right. She turned to look at him as the other ate and talked. He seemed upset and everyone would give him a side glance every once in a while. Finally he pushed his uneaten food away and walked out of the dining area.

"What's wrong with him?" Tye asked.

"It's about what happened at the ball." Cala said as she watched the door close behind him.

"What happened?"

"Oh yeah you left early." Cala said before taking a bite. "Well this older boy whose a squire, I think he is related to one of the second year pages, Ronald or something, anyways, he was in a bad mood I guess and started picking on some other first years who were next to us. Leo said something and the boy replied 'everyone knows Stonemountain's aren't worthy of becoming knights. Just take a look at his uncle.' people started laughing after that. I don't think Leo has ever been so embarrassed." Cala said and sighed.

"What happened with his uncle?" Tye asked as she ate.

"Well everyone knows that he had an uncle named Joren who trained to become a knight. Rumor says that he was a horrible person to begin with, caused some trouble throughout most of his time as a page and squire. He died in the Chamber of the Ordeal." Able finished. Tye nodded and stood up.

"I'll see you all in class." She said and put her tray away.

xXx

She found Leo sitting in the back of the math room waiting for class to start. He stared ahead and didn't move when she sat down next to him.

"I guess they told you huh?" He asked after a few minutes.

"Yes they did." Silence for another few minutes. Class wouldn't be starting for a while. Lunch was still going on; they had plenty of time just to sit.

"What if… What if I fail like him? I was born after him, but everyone says we look alike. What if I become like him and die in the Ordeal?" His voice was shaky. She could tell this had been bothering him for sometime.

"That won't happen." Tye said firmly.

"How do you know?"

"Because no matter how much you look like this Joren person, you are not him. From what I heard, he was not a pleasant person; filled with jealousy and hatred. You are constantly surrounded by us girls. You lose to us sometimes and beat us sometimes. Not once have I seen you show any form of anger of resentment towards us or any others who did better then you in something. You are nothing like him. You will be a great knight."

Leo couldn't help it. Faster then she thought possible, he reached out and pulled her into a fierce hug.

"Thank you." He whispered into her ear. "I really needed to hear that." Tye patted him on the back unsure. People were so much more emotional here. It was hard to get used to.

At that moment the door opened and the other pages walked in to see them hugging. A few whistled and called out, but Tye just shook them off. They didn't know what really happened. Leo on the other hand seemed to shrink into his seat, face blazing. Cala and Able took the two seats in front of them. Able was laughing at them. Cala tried to share in the humorous moment, but Tye could tell something else was on her mind. The teacher came in and called them all to attention, before making them copy notes as he spoke. She had "lost" two pencils and a piece of paper during that class, so she didn't get most of the notes. Hopefully one of the other three would let her copy what she missed down. Apparently Ronald was not happy about what happened at the ball.

The rest of the classes went as they usually did. Although in Immortals Studies she was pleased to find that they had changed topics away from the Sister's prophecy to Griffin abilities.

Rei had not been there at lunch. It was starting to get to Tye. Had he really been that mad at her? She wondered how long he would keep himself away from her. She was starting t miss him.

She had been a little sad throughout hand to hand combat and weapons training. Iban the wolf had chosen to leave her alone and not comment when she was out of step a little, leaving her to her thoughts for the day. She waved and dipped her head slightly in thanks before leaving. At weapon's training she was a little distracted allowing Simon to hit her fingers several times. He smirked as she winced each time.

At the barn she saw Esther coming out from the back.

"Hello Tye." Esther greeted her with a smile. "Hi Camric." She said as she passed by them. Camric tripped over his feet luckily catching himself before he fell.

"H…hello." He said causing a few other pages to snicker.

Tye went right to the back, her spirits lifting as soon as she saw Corm's head poke out from his stall to watch her come over.

"Hey Corm." She said to the horse who was fast becoming her best friend. After she addled him up she went to the front to see Sir Daniel and the others. They went through their normal practice routine. Daniel introduced a few new things to try, but mostly kept to what they knew until he was sure they had everything down.

Corm had a good workout once they came back in. She unsaddled him and gave him some water before brushing him down. She thought she heard something and looking out into the walkway outside of Corm's stall. Her breath caught in her throat. Rei was leaning on the wall across from his stall.

She was about to open her mouth to say something when suddenly sounds from a group of people could be heard just outside the back entryway; the way she and Corm came into the barn. A small head poked through and say her and Rei. They heard a few whispered words and then feet rushing away. Apparently Ronald had been hoping to have an encounter.

She turned to Rei and they locked eyes.

"Rei I…" he cut her off.

"Don't," was all he said and walked away. Tye sighed and finished brushing Corm down, before giving him a farewell pat and exiting the stall. Esther stood a few feet away.

"Boys can be stupid at times. Be patient. Give them time to realize it." She said with a laugh. Tye looked away. Had she heard?

Tye nodded to Esther and left to go get cleaned up for dinner, a very Rei-less dinner.

xXx

That night they studied in Cala's room. Leo was the first to leave, then Able. Tye stood up to go before noticing that Cala still seemed to be upset about something.

"Is anything wrong?" Tye asked before she opened the door.

"No… It's just that. Do you like Leo?" Cala asked looking away blushing.

Tye raised an eyebrow. She hadn't even noticed that Cala liked Leo. She hid it very well, too well, if Tye had anything to say about it. He would never know how she felt if she didn't give off any signs.

"Of course I like Leo. He is a good friend." Tye replied keeping back a smile. Cala sighed and looked down. "But not in the way that you do." Cala looked up with a gasp and another even brighter blush. Tye couldn't help but smirk. "Good night. You might want to try and not hide it so well." She said before closing the door behind her.

Back in her room, Tye changed into her night things. She opened the window for some fresh air and leaned against the sill, looking out at the dark courtyard below. The birds were fast asleep covering the tree. Tye sighed.

"I am getting too attached to them." She said to no one. "What will they think when they find out what I really am?" She questioned the night. She sighed again and closed the windows before laying down and falling asleep.

xXx

The darking on the table relayed what had happened in the room to Lyn. She was in her small room with a single candle lit on the table.

"Thank you." She said before getting up and getting ready for bed. She had hid a darking in the room that morning hoping that some questions would be answered, but she found herself having more.

xXx

Ok done! Not too much happened in this Chap. Just kinda wanted to show things going back to normal. Ill update as soon as I can. Hope you liked it. Review and let me know what you think.


	16. Making up

Ok I had a request for some more action so here it goes! I think I have made Tye a little too passive. Time for her to kick sum booty!

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Dark bushes whipped past her as she ran. A branch reached out, scrapping her cheek. It stung just under her eye, the warm blood pooling there warmed her cheek. _Just brilliant Tye_. She said to herself. _Go off on a walk to help calm yourself down so you can finally get some sleep without any weapons or telling anyone where you are going. Just great!_ She hadn't been sleeping well the last few nights. Rei still hadn't been speaking to her. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't done anything wrong. It bothered her more then she would have liked. Even when he saw some of Ronald's friends following behind her, he hadn't done anything. She had been lucky that she had run into Iban the wolf or else she would have found herself in a not too pleasant situation. The other people from the table started questioning her when they noticed his cold behavior to her and his refusal to sit at their table. The lack of sleep and the constant questioning had been wearing Tye's nerves very thin. So after lying in bed for an hour that night without any luck falling asleep, she decided to take a walk outside and try and clear her head.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Everyone was asleep, not one would bother her. Of course she hadn't taken into account that the people who are up at this time, aren't always someone you want to be associating with. Two guys had been wandering around, obviously up to no good, and decided to take advantage of a young weaponless girl walking around alone at night. It would be easy prey, or so they thought. They didn't expect her to take off into the trees the moment she saw them.

They blundered around behind her trying to keep up. Her foot snagged on a rock bringing her down hard. She cried out in pain as her ankle twisted. They were still behind her. Tye could hear them moving faster now. She couldn't run anymore. Using a tree to pull herself up from the ground. Tye kept the tree to her back and concentrated on where they were coming from, one foot lifted up and the other one taking all her weight. She concentrated a few moments clearing her mind and letting the years of training fill her. Her eyes opened again as the two stumbled in, both panting.

"There you are little girly. Thought you had gotten away from us for a moment there." The other grinned in agreement, both thinking that they had won. She could smell the strong aroma of ale on them. The one who had spoken dashed towards her. At the last moment Tye reached above her head and grabbed onto the branch right above her. Lifting herself up and kicking out with her good foot she caught his right in the face. He screamed in pain and she could see spurts of blood coming through the fingers covering his nose. She pulled herself up completely until she sat on the branch.

The other angered at what had happened to his friend, charged towards her, attempting to grab at her dangling feet. Once he was right below her, she swung herself backwards until she hit him in the back with her head. She hung upside down for a moment before she reached up to hold the branch with her hands and pulling her legs down. There was only a foot or so between her and the ground so she dropped onto her good foot.

Seeing the two distracted, one with his bloody nose and the other having fallen over, she half ran half stumbled until she was out of the trees. She wondered how two guys like that had gotten onto the castle grounds as she limped back to her room. Luckily the guys seemed to give up on her.

Back In her room, Tye tried to clean herself up as much as possible. It had taken her much longer to get back to the castle and to her room. The sun would be up in an hour, no point in going to sleep now. Her ankle had swelled up considerably and she could barely walk on it. With a bowl of water and handkerchief she rubbed off most of the dirt and blood. After putting on a clean pair of cloths, she sat down on her bed with a cloth and began to wrap her ankle. She hissed at it pulled on the abused flesh, but knew that it had to be tight or else she wouldn't be able to walk at all. By the time she finished Lyn was knocking on her door.

Tye was greeted with the same smile as she opened the door to leave for breakfast.

"Tye what happened to your face?" Lyn asked as Tye walked past her. She lifted her hand to the cut just under her eye.

"Oh I just cut it in practice." She replied and walked away. Lyn watched unconvinced before she walked into the room. Once she heard the door close Tye sighed and started limping a bit. She heard laughing and turned to see Ronald and his friends watching her walk. Tye took in a breath and stiffened up walking normally again. The last thing she needed was to get into a situation with them when she was hurt.

She grabbed her food and sat down quietly at the table, hoping the bring the least amount of attention to herself. Unfortunately when Cala turned to greet her she saw the fresh cut just below her eye and exclaimed loudly.

"Oh what happened!" This caused everyone else to turn.

"Oh this?" Tye said patting her cheek trying to play it down. "A rock flew up when I was riding Corm the other night. Just grazed my cheek is all." She went back to eating hoping they would drop it.

"But we saw you at dinner afterwards." Able stated unsure.

Tye shrugged. "Everyone was so tired. They must have just missed it." People slowly went back to eating. Tye was glade that they bought it so easily, yet also a little sad.

Before she took her next bite, she just happened to look up at the table next to them. Her eyes locked with Rei's. His eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to come over. Then his eyes narrowed and left the room. Tye sighed and went back to eating.

xXx

Rei quickly left the room. He had to get out or else he would go to her. He had to keep reminding himself that he was made at her. It was just too easy to forgive Tye and go back to how they had been. Rei didn't want that. He wanted to know what was going on. Not just follow her blindly. She couldn't even tell him the truth about why they wanted her. How could she expect him to trust her and want to be around her? It was just so hard to pretend to not want to be.

It had been painful to ignore the feelings he got when she was in trouble. Last night had been the worst. He had been ready to give up and go to her, when the feeling stopped suddenly and he figured that he had eaten something that didn't settle right at dinner the night before. But then he saw Tye that morning. He had watched her enter and flinch with every step she took. The cut under her eye looked fresh and swollen. Guilt had settled in the pit of his stomach. It was so strong he had to leave or else he thought he might be sick.

_What is happening to me?_

xXx

Tye left a few minutes before her friends. Out in the hall she heard voices and turned to see the two new cooks walking together. One had a swollen nose, she could tell it had been healed slightly, the other walked stiffly. Their eyes widened as they saw her and they took off in the other direction.

_So that's how they were on the castle grounds._ She knew them. They had just come a few weeks before. Both were pretty nice guys. Had they not been drinking she was sure that they would not have attacked her. Tye wouldn't tell on them. Hopefully they learned from this and wouldn't drink so much they loose control again. Luckily it had been her and not really a weak little girl.

She shook her head and headed off to her classes. Already the pain in her ankle almost unbearable, how would she make it through the rest of the day?

xXx

Tye was glad when it was time to ride Corm. It was her last class and afterwards she could sit and soak her ankle in a nice bath before dinner. She was getting better at riding. She barely had to do anything at all. Corm did all the work. The little sounds she made directed him and he was getting better and responding instantly to them. After, she brushed him down quickly, gave him some fresh water, said goodbye to Esther and left the barn. On her way back someone started walking next to her. Startled that she hadn't heard anyone come from behind her she paused and turned to see Ronald smiling.

"Tye I noticed that you seem to have a slight limp and came to see how you were doing." He said with a smirk as Simon and Timoty came out from the bushes.

Tye always tried to avoid fighting, but with her hurt ankle it would be hard to run and dodge their attacks like she normally did. She was trapped. Ronald sung hs arm around trying to catch her head. Thinking quickly she ducked down, keeping the pressure off her foot, and punched forwards. Of course at this height she was right at his groin and he double over in pain, panting and wheezing. Simon grabbed a branch and, using it like a sword, swung at her. She caught it in her hand just before it hit her. There was a loud slapping sound at it made contact with the skin on her palm. His eyes widened in surprise. She used this to jam it back into his gut. He coughed, the air knocked out of him, and back off.

No one moved for a few moments. Ronald got off the ground growling and Simon seemed to catch his breath. All three of them looked angrily at her. Tye looked around hoping that a teacher or someone would be around, but no one was there. She sighed preparing for the beating that she knew would come.

"Enough!" a voice shouted from a few feet away. Tye opened her eyes in disbelief, hoping that the voice belonged to who she hoped it did. Sure enough Rei stood by a tree a few feet away.

"We will finish this later." Ronald growled before he and his cronies left. Her attention was still on Rei though. Of course it was at that time her ankle finally gave way and she fell. He darted forward to catch her before she hit the ground.

Neither one moved from their new position; him sitting and her hanging loosely in his arms.

"I'm sorry I didn't come last night." He said suddenly, guilt evident in his voice. As soon as he had the feeling again, he took off towards her hoping that she wasn't too hurt by the time he got there. He had ignored it last night and now she was hurt. It was all his fault.

"You couldn't have known." Tye whispered knowing she was wrong. She was starting to suspect why Rei could feel when she was in trouble, but she hoped that it wasn't true. It would just cause more danger for him.

Rei helped her up and held her arm as he led her t the bath house. Neither one said anything, just walked in each others company, before he left her at the door.

Tye washed up quickly and got to dinner just in time. Marcase hated when pages were late for dinner. Rei sat with them that night. He still seemed upset with her, but it was a start. Before they left Marcase gave them a small speech.

"In one months time we will set out to the desert where we will be staying in a few different Bazhir tribes for two months, learning their culture and the fighting techniques. For the first years who have never done this before, you will have basic training. At the end of the two months someone will choose to sponsor you the next year and concentrate on one style with you. There are many so there is bound to be one that suits you. Once we get back there is just two months before final exams." He dismissed them and the pages excitedly left the dining hall.

xXx

I kno I kno. This took forever to come out. Im hoping that when exams are all done with ill have more time just to sit and type. Don't worry I will keep on updating as often as I can. I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to put more Tye fighting action in it. Well review and let me know what you think.

Ps….

Someone asked about ages, so for my story:

1st years 11-12

2nd years 12-13

3rd years 14-15

4th years 15-16

It may be different in the real books but for my story this will how it will be.


	17. The Journey Part I

Oops sorry guys, I messed up on the ages on the last page. It should be…

1st years 11-12

2nd years 12-13

3rd years 13-14

4th years 14-15

Ok much better. Sry for the delay. Im going as fast as I can. Im going to try and get in a couple chapters this week since I will be gone this weekend. Well here goes chapter 17. Enjoy!

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_A young Tye, around the age of six, stood on a small mat in the middle of an empty room. At the front of the room a tall man with dark black hair that had bits of grey in his beard. There was one small window that showed the clear blue sky outdoors. That was where she wanted to be. Not here in this small over heated room, having to listen to this man drone on and on. So lost in her thoughts that she did not notice him stop talking and walk behind her. There was a loud whacking sound as a hollow stick hit her back. She fell forward onto her hands and knees, biting her cheek to keep from calling out. _

"_You will not waste my time by day-dreaming during your lesson. Now get up and repeat the moves I just showed you."_

"_Yes sir" She said going through some moves. He circled around bringing the stick down sharply onto the cement floor any time she messed up. Her back stung from when she was hit. She was tired and hungry, but she wouldn't get any rest or food until she had done this right. All she wanted to do was sit and cry. But no. She wouldn't cry. Tye wasn't allowed to cry. She wasn't allowed to be a baby anymore they said. She wasn't even allowed to play anymore. She clenched her fists and swallowed hard. From this day on no one would make her cry, the little six year old promised herself just as the stick came down hard on the back of her knees._

"_Again!" His voice bellowed._

xXx

Tye opened her eyes slowly. It was strange. She was having dreams of her memories. But she was glade for it. They helped her remember what she really is. It was so easy to forget here with all of the new friends she had made. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, letting her bare feet hit the cold floor.

The sun was just about to rise. Tye stood up and did a few stretches and exercises. Afterwards, she went to her wash room and quickly relieved herself and washed her face. Today they would be setting out for the Bazhir tribe. She had packed the night before, leaving some fresh cloths for today. It would be a long ride, but she was excited. She had never been to a Bazhir tribe before and besides Rei and the few other Bazhir pages, she didn't know very many people.

By the time she finished dressing she heard a small knock on her door. When she opened it she was surprised to find Miss Sanders and not Lyn at the door. Tye let her in and closed the door behind her. She fished out a candle and lit it since the sun had only begun to rise.

"I just wanted to say goodbye and wish you a safe journey." Miss Sanders held out a small cloth bag. "I made a few snacks for you for the trip. I know you are supposed to hunt and get your own food while you travel, but I worry and I would feel better if you had a little something." Miss Sanders looked at her closely and scrunched up her nose. "You are looking awfully slim, are you eating enough?" She demanded in her motherly tone. Tye smile and nodded. Miss Sanders looked doubtful but finally gave in. "All right, all right. I just don't want you to think like the court ladies do. It's alright to have fat on your bones!" Miss Sanders exclaimed proud of her wide girth. "Now come here and give me a hug, then off with ya. People are already heading to breakfast before they head out. Leave your bags here and bring them down after you eat." She instructed holding out her arms. Tye stepped into her embrace, still getting used to this whole hugging thing. It was still slightly awkward for her. Miss Sander left after that and Tye soon after, heading for the dining hall.

xXx

After breakfast they all loaded their horses up with their bags. A few pages had to be sent back to their rooms to empty out some things, but eventually they were all packed up.

Marcase stood in front of all the pages and cleared his throat.

"Now we will all be moving in one large group, but an adult will be in charge of a group of twelve. Now I had each adult choose their group, they will come and organize you together then we will set out." After he finished talking Iban the Wolf trotted over to them on a small grey horse. He smiled before pulling together his group. It consisted of Tye, Rei, Cala, Yani, Able, Susan, Rikash, Leo, and, unfortunately, Ronald, Timoty, and Simon. He instructed them to mount their horses and move off to the side of the group since he didn't want to get caught up in the rush of pages when they did start moving. Quietly he held Tye back. She had been curious as to why he had chosen Ronal, Timoty, and Simon. Hadn't he noticed that they did not get along well? He smiled at her.

"It is best to keep those you consider an enemy close to you when working with them. Don't you agree?" He said simply. "We will all have to work together on this long journey and I would feel better being close to them and knowing what they were up to." He smiled and nodded to her before catching up to the group, Tye following behind. The side of her mouth twitched up in a smile slightly. He was smarter then he looked.

xXx

The first hour everyone had been excited. By the third hour, everyone was pretty much bored. They weren't allowed to talk too much and when they were it could only be in whispers. Marcase told them that on important mission through the forest, they need to know how to stay quiet and listen to their surroundings for signs of an enemy nearby. Tye cast a quick glance at Ronald and his gang. The enemy was nearby and they were up to something. She could see them whispering amongst themselves and wondered what they were up to.

Rei trotted along quietly beside her with Cala on the other side. Behind them were Able Leo and Rikash. Behind them were Yani, Susan, and Camric, who seemed very upset about leaving a certain someone back at the stables. Ronald and his gang were in the row in front of Tye. Cala was reading a book beside her. She cast a quick glance at the titled and gulped.

Prophecy of the Sisters: The story and legends surrounding the five sisters

"What are you reading there?" Rikash asked from behind clearly bored.

"It's about those sisters were had been learning about a month or so ago. I found this book in my father's library and decided to read up more on it. It's so romantic." She said with a sigh. "It says here that the Goddess looked down upon the five sisters who grew up lonely and surrounded by violence. She felt sorry for them and shed a single tear for each one. As they fell towards earth, each tear hit a pregnant woman. From that tear a soul mate was born. Each soul mate would have a sister they were to love and protect as the sister grew up and started to learn to control the powers that she possesses. It is said every time the sisters are reincarnated to fight the darkness that their soul mates are reborn as well and that each soul mate will search the earth until they find the sister to whom they belong." Cala recited from the text. Able sighed. Tye smirked at the two. With all the training and fighting that they did it was easy to forget that they were still young girls.

Rikash rolled his eyes.

"Women and their love stories." Able punched his arm.

"Hey! Be careful on my arm! I'm delicate!" He shouted jokingly. Quickly he ducked his head blushing. He had forgotten that everyone was quiet and that mostly everyone heard him. Stifled laughter could be heard throughout the large group. Pages and adults tried to contain their laughter as the group moved on.

Eventually it was quiet again, brining silence as well as boredom back. Tye was a little hungry. She had been so excited at breakfast she had hardly eaten a thing. Slowly she reached into her pocket where she had slipped the small bundle that Miss Sanders had given her. She found a small cookie and broke off a small piece. Quickly she put it in her mouth hoping no one saw. Rei cleared his throat next to her. She looked over at his keeping her jaw still so that he wouldn't see her chewing. His put his hand out loosely in between them, palm upwards slightly and raised an eyebrow; clearly asking for a piece. She reached back into her pocket and took out the other half of the cookie. Slowly she put her hand in between them and moved it until her hand was over his. Rei looked up at her, hands still touching. He caught the cookie as she slipped it to him, but he didn't move his hand back and neither did she. For a moment they rode, hands connected between them, looking up at one another. His heart thudded loudly. He was sure she could hear it. After a few breathless moments they heard someone clear their throat next to them. Iban the Wolf rode off to the side of Rei, eyes sparkling. They quickly snatched their hands back.

After the Wolf walk ahead of them once again Rei slipped the half of the cookie into his mouth. For the next few hours bother of them were silent.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Alright. I know it's a little on the short side, but I will put up the next chapter tomorrow. Itll have more action! I just wanted them to get started off on the journey in this one. I know I didn't name the tribe. I am going to talk to my friend and see which one I should choose and I will include it in the next chapter.

I felt bad about it taking so long, so im giving you more info about the sisters. maybe you guys can kinda guess where im heading with Tye and Rei now...lol

nicolerenea I had thought about doing somthing like that in my next chapter. Just for u ill include that line "You're my hero" just cuz i think it would be somthing funni for Tye to say...lol

Well I hoped you liked it. Review and let me know what you think.


	18. The Journey Part 2: a small activity

Ok this is going to be a little rushed. I am going to leave for my plane in a little bit, but I wanted to get this other chapter out like I promised. Who at the end of the last chapter I said bother instead of both…lol. Anywho here is goes.

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_A young Tye stood in the front hall. She could be no more then eight years old at the timet. It was stone and cold, with one carpet running along the floor. In front of her stood the old man who was her teacher. His face was red from yelling at her. _

"_How could you even think about trying to escape over the wall. We rised you, clothed you, fed you, and this is how you repay us. By endangering yourself and the others of this castle, because of your selfish ideas."_

"_But sir, I wanted to meet them"_

"_Who could you possibly need to meet that isn't here helping and supporting you." He demanded, trying to make her feel as guilty as possible. _

"_Other people Sir. You say I am supposed to save them all one day. But I have never even met them." She reasoned. _

"_You have no need to see those people. These walls are the only thing keeping us safe. If you go outside of them, there is nothing to stop the darkness from killing you. And trust me, it will not hesitate to take advantage of a small weak little girl, who barely passes her fighting exams against me, an old man."_

"_I am not weak!" She yelled._

"_Don't talk back to me!" He raised his arm as if to strike her. Everything seemed in slow motion as his arm came down. She reached out her hand to stop him. He hand connected with flesh and she gripped tightly…_

_Wait a minute. That was not how the memory went. She never caught his arm…_

xXx

Tye opened her eyes slowly. That was strange. It still felt like she was holding onto her teachers arm. She looked up to see Iban the wolf smiling above her.

"Good morning Tye. I was just coming to wake you." Gently he pried her fingers off his arm and went over to Cala next to her. Tye sat up and rubbed her eyes. It was a little before dawn, the time she normally woke up. After everyone was awake, Iban told them to wash up and get dressed quietly. No one else was up yet.

The water in the river was cold, but felt good on their aching muscles. They were still very sore from riding all yesterday. By the time they all got back others started waking up as well.

"Alright everyone I woke you up early so you wouldn't be stuck in a crowd of people trying to bath and get dressed." Iban began. "Today Marcase and a few other knights that are coming along with us will go ahead of us into the town nearby and collect some supplies they had waiting there. We will meet up with them later. While they are doing that, we will do a small activity. Sponsors please partner up with the first year you are with." They all did. That left Camric and Timoty. "Since you two are the only ones who aren't a sponsor, you will be partnered today." There was a collective groan from both of them. "Alright, today's activity will be to rescue your partner from a certain situation. I will put each of you into a situation where you need saving, and your partner will have to find a way to save you. Now I will take each group one at a time. Rikash and Leo, how about you two first?" Iban said smiling. "The rest of you feel free to relax and have breakfast" The three of them left off into the woods. Two cooks had come along with them, to serve and prepare the food up until the first town. After that, the first year pages were to be taught how to hunt on their own. The older pages were expected to already know how to hunt and would take turns getting food for their group.

The cooks finally came to their group and passed out the bowls of stew. Tye looked up as one handed a bowl to her and caught his eye. He froze a moment, before handing her the bowl and leaving with the other cook quickly. It was them, the two boys who worked in the kitchens that had attacked her that night. Rei was the only one who noticed the two cooks' strange reaction to Tye. When she looked over to him, he narrowed his eyes and shot a glance towards the two boys who were at another group now, clearly asking what had happened between them. She shook her head meaning nothing. He held her gaze a few more moments before going back to eating.

It turned out that Tye and Rei were the last ones to go. It was already well after mid day and it was starting to get a bit boring sitting and waiting. Leo and Rikash had both come back covered in mud. It turned out that Leo had slipped when pulling Rikash out of a hole, sending them both back to the bottom, which was covered with sticky mud from storm they had, had a few days ago. Rikash just laughed it off and grabbed some supplies to clean himself off in the river. Leo followed after.

Besides them, everyone pretty much came back ok, laughing and congradulating one another. That is except for Camric and Timoty, who came back cursing and trying to attack one another. Iban the wolf kept them apart, but you could tell he was starting to get annoyed.

"Both of you failed this exercise. Timoty for purposefully dropping Camric back onto the rocks, and Camric for pulling Timoty down with you and proceeding to try and attack him. I will be retesting you both on the next rest day we have, I suggest you think about how to behave next time." He sighed. "Tye? Rei? You two next." They followed him off through the woods. "Rei you stand and wait here. I will be putting Tye someone first. He pulled out some parchment from a pocket. In ten minutes open this; it is a map to where Tye is." Rei nodded and sat down on a log to wait. Tye walked off with Iban.

Finally he stopped near a large crater. It must have been a mile wide in diameter and a hundred feet deep. In the center a small circle of land jutted up until it was the same level as the ground that Tye stood on now. There was a good forty feet or so in between land and this small island.

"You Tye will be trapped on there. Your right arm and left leg are broken." He stated. There was a small old rope bridge with work out wooden boards on the bottom that led to it. They walked across it being careful of where they stepped. Once they were across, Iban told her to be by the tree that was near the edge. He set down a dagger then walked back across the bridge.

"Now cut the ropes Tye. Rei will be here soon." He said with a smile. Tye bent over to grab the dagger and slowly cut through the ropes. It glided through the air, until it hit the cliff on the other side shattering the worn out boards until there was just a dangling ropes left connected to the other side. She sat down under the tree and looked up. At some point Iban had left. Now she was all alone on an island in the middle of a crater. She hoped Rei knew how to read a map well and would get here soon. She didn't like feeling trapped.

xXxXxXxXxXx

Alrighty this is just part one, when I get back I will post the next chapter. That should be Monday. You all will just have to wait and see what happens. Since I was in a rush I couldn't include everything that I wanted to. Next chapter will be longer. Well I hoped you like this little chapter. This week has been pretty busy so I know I haven't been able to put out my best work. Don't worry though I have a lot planned for next chapter!


	19. The Journey part 3: The Awakening

OK Im back! I hope this chapter sorta makes up for the last couple short, bad ones. Well hope you enjoy!

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Iban rubbed his wrist as he walked off into the trees. He had not shown it but that morning when she grabbed his arm, she had been close to breaking it. Had he not pried her fingers off, she no doubt would have. He wondered what kind of dreams could cause her to react that way. She may not have been aware of it, but her body had known when he approached her. It had stiffened, breathing had slowed, palms to the ground to feel the vibrations of the person coming closer. He had been trained to approach a person completely silent, yet her body could sense him come closer somehow. It was another thing on a long list of things that made Tye interesting to him. She showed signs of being a great fighter, yet was reluctant to show it to anyone. She had fast reflexes, was graceful and intelligent, she was very possessive of her things, he had overheard a conversation with her and her friends where she had become slightly uncomfortable and hesitant about lending one of them some money, yet she tried to hide all of this behind a cool and emotionless mask. There was also the fact that no girl, or boy, her age should be able to snap his arm that easily in their sleep.

Iban sighed loudly. He would just have to wait and see. He knew other people were watching her closely. He had not shared his information with them, partly because he didn't believe that she was here to harm anyone and partly because it seemed as if it would be betraying her. She knew how to gain strong loyalty. You could just look at her friends and see. Tye hide well in the group, not drawing attention to herself, but you could tell by the way they acted around her and listened to her, that they would follow her to anything if she asked them to. When she first arrived he could tell that her main goal was not to make a whole lot of friends, but she managed to pull herself into a group of people that would be immensely loyal to her.

Iban climbed up into a tree to watch how Rei did from a distance.

_Sly like a snake._ He commented about her humorously in his mind as he looked at Tye who was stretching out cat-like in the sun, eyes closing. Suddenly his eyes snapped wide as something in his mind clicked. _Or sly like some other reptile-like creature!_

xXx

Rei spun around in place. This map was impossible to read. There were lines and markings, small writings, in both languages he knew and those he didn't. He couldn't even tell where he was on the map. He hoped Tye didn't mind waiting for a while. This was going to take a lot longer then he thought.

xXx

Tye couldn't tell how much time had gone by since Iban had left and she had sat under the tree. There was only one tree on the small island, leaving the encircled area open and bright. Sunlight poured down onto Tye warming her. She stretched widely and yawned, finding herself tired. It wasn't long until her eyes slide closed. Rei would wake her when he came…

_The room was dark. Rain pelted against the glass windows of the cellar room. _

"_Mistress are you sure you want to do this?" Tye's maid asked. She nodded. "You are only nine. I still don't think it is a good idea for you to leave on your own. What would your teacher say?"_

"_We have talked about this before Gabriella. For one thing, I don't think I am one of these sisters. I mean you should hear teacher. I am no where near as good as I should be. Besides, how am I supposed to save all of these people if I have never even met them? If I really am this sister, even though I don't think I am, what is to keep me going and strong if I don't know what I am fighting for. I have to go out and experience this world for myself. I can't stand to stay inside these walls any longer." Tye said, hoping Gabriella would understand. _

"_I know, I know. I promised I would help you sneak out. I am not going back on that now. Just remember what I said. Go east and four towns over. There is a man there named Gimsped. He is an old friend. He and his wife own an inn. I have contacted him and told him that my young niece would be coming to stay with him. I told him to pretend to be your father since you have been disowned by our family and I do not have the money to keep you. Don't worry he wont ask questions. If things start to look dangerous, and if shadows start to come after you, head to the castle, they take girl knights there. Few shadows would dare to come there since it has so many powerful people. Just stay around people at all times and if one does come it won't try anything." Tye nodded pulling on her bag full of items she would need. "You better get going, the guards are about to go on their rounds. You need a good head start." Tye nodded at her maid and went through the trapdoor in the floor. It closed with a loud bang, leaving her in darkness._

Tye opened her eyes. At some point she had tipped over from her sitting position, to lying on the grass around it. Sitting up she looked around, still no Rei. Looking up at the sky she judged that she had been out for about an hour. He should have been here by now.

Bushes rustled on the land in front of her. There was about forty feet between her and whatever was coming, but she stiffened up waiting. Rei came through, panting slightly. Tye relaxed.

"Sorry Tye. This map is impossible to read. Took me half an hour to figure out where I was on the map and by that time I had gone a long way out of the way."

"That's alright, just get me off of this island. Oh yes and I have a broken left leg and right arm." She stated. Rei looked around spotting where the bridge had been cut.

"That would have been too easy." He commented to himself. He furrowed his eye brows a moment. "You know this rope is still good, it's only been cut off at the ends. If I tie them together they will be long enough to reach your side." He explained pulling up the two sides and untying them from the pegs connecting them to his side. He took one end of each and tied them together, before going over to the closest tree and tying one end around it securely.

"Can you tie a good knot around that tree with one hand?" He asked, attaching a rock to the other end so that he would be able to throw it farther.

"I should be able to." She said thinking. He nodded and tossed the rock as hard as he could. It arced in the air and landed just below her foot. She picked it up with her 'good' hand and tied it tightly around her tree.

Rei tested the rope for a minute before pulling himself up. He was upside-down with the rope at arms length. His legs were wrapped around the rope. Slowly he scuttled across to Tye. His back hit the grass and he let go of the rope.

"My hero." Tye said. Rei got up smirking. "But one problem hero." He paused. "I have a broken arm and leg. I can't go back the same way." Rei frowned. He had forgotten that. Thinking a moment, he looked around at what he had. Suddenly his eyes brightened.

"I know. Lay down on top of me."

Silence

"Excuse me?" Tye asked after a moment.

"No. I mean if you lay on top of me we can go back the way I came. There is enough room between me and the rope for you to fit." He said. He helped Tye up since her limbs were 'broken' and led her over to the edge. Rei gently pulled her down with him as he lay down to get back onto the rope; on her side it had been very close to the ground. He made sure that a leg ended up on each side of him so that she was straddling him. Rei looked up a moment and caught her eye. Neither one looked away. His heart started beating very fast and breathing became a little hard. After what couldn't have been more then a few seconds he cleared his throat and looked away, heart still beating wildly. _No I have to pay attention. We could both get killed if I slip. _He brought his arms up and wrapped his legs around the rope. Tye lay down so that her head was just above his shoulder. He pulled them up and started making his way across. Surprisingly, Tye was very light. It didn't feel much different from when he did it alone and before he knew it they were across.

The whole time Tye had kept her eyes tightly closed, not wanting to look at the great height below her. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights, just that she didn't have anything to hold onto. She was completely trusting Rei to get them across, something she normally would not do, but they had had that moment right before he started moving. Something in her just calmed and knew that he wouldn't let her get hurt. It felt good and a little scary to trust someone so completely with her life.

As soon as they landed on the ground Tye stood up and stretched, she had been over there laying and sitting for a while. Iban appeared before them.

"Rei it appears as though I forgot to point out where you were on the map. I did circle where Tye was thought, so good job in finding her, you pass. Now…"

"Excuse me." A young page came over panting. "I was told to come and get you. Some of the pages under your care have been causing trouble and they need you back at camp." Iban sighed.

"Alright I will be there in a minute." He turned back to the two of them. Taking the map he took out a writing utensil and started to draw a path and circle an area. He pulled out some rope from his bag and handed in from Rei. "There is a cliff here, use the rope to get down to a ledge ten feet below it. Afterwards Tye you cut the rope and try and figure out a way to get down and bring Rei back up to the top. Rei you have to pretend to be unconscious. Remember this is a problem solving exercise; you may not cheat and use the rope. I will be back before you finished so I will know if you do or not." He nodded to them both and left with the page.

The cliff wasn't too far away. They both arrived in a matter of minutes. Rei walked over and tied the rope around a tree just above the cliff. He was about to lower himself down when the sound of deep chuckling could be heard a few feet away from them. Rei and Tye looked up at the same time to see a group of men, one on a horse the others on foot, standing and looking at them. They were filthy and wore rags.

"Well looky what we go here boys." The man on the horse said. "Two little kids intruding on our territory, that's what it looks like to me. How about you boy?" The men nodded around him and pulled out their swords.

Rei locked eyes with Tye. They were weaponless and in the middle on no where. They didn't know their way around and they were far away from camp. No one would hear them shouting.

"It would not be a good idea to attack us." Rei stated.

"That a challenge pretty boy?" The head man asked.

"We have a large party with knights nearby."

"There isn't a party around here for miles." Rei swore under his breath. He looked at Tye again. How could he protect her from this.

The head man let out a loud sharp whistle that sent his men crashing forward towards them.

One swung a sword at Rei. He dodged it easily but was too close to the edge. Before he knew what was happening, he fell over the cliff and onto the rocky platform, smashing his head and getting knocked out.

"One down, One little girly to go." The head man shouted. The circled around her grinning.

Tye's head swam with thoughts. _How can I defend myself? There are no weapons around I cane use. Even though they aren't experienced sword fighters they have the upper hand here. When they get through with me they could go after Rei… Rei…_That was the thought that did it for her. Anger coursed through her body. **_MY REI_**. Her mind shouted. Wait that wasn't her voice. The beast. The ancient mythical creature that lived within her. Her other half was awakening. The thought of Rei hurt or killed was too much for it after how close they had become. It felt the need to protect. These men were trying to hurt what was hers…

They would pay.

Tye looked up at them. Hard black eyes took in each figure. A slow smirk spread across her face.

xXxXxXxXXxXx

dum dum dum…

lol. Ok leavin it with a lil cliffy. Next chapter will be the last part of the journey. Hope you all liked it. Review and let me know what you think.


	20. The Journey Part 4: Under Attack

Ok here's chapter 20! I am going away again this weekend so I wont be able to update for a few days. Sry guys. This is the last weekend I have to go away. But I made a present 4 u guys! I made a website that will have all the info and stuff about my fanfic on there! I haven't finished so there are only a few things, ill do more when I get back, but I thought it would be fun to have all the info right there in case things ever become confusing(I always have to look back at chapters and places I've written stuff down to remember it all).

5thsister. is the link (no www. in front) can u believe that pots and pos were already taken! Oh well 5thsister is easy enough I guess. Check it out and I hope u enjoy!

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The men took a slight step back, nervous over the change in the girl. They were used to their prey screaming in fear or trying to run away, not standing still, staring at them with black empty eyes and smirking. They had heard stories of some of the women warriors from the castle. Not many actually believed all that they had heard about them, but it made them realize that they needed to be a bit more cautious when attacking innocent looking girls.

The man on the horse looked around at his men.

"What the hell are you waiting for!" He roared. "I gave you an order! Get her now!" His voice boomed in the silent forest.

"Y..yes sir!" Shouted one of the men before he charged forward, sword raised and yelling a war cry.

If all the men had not seen it themselves, they would not have believed that a small girl could move that fast. Right as the man swung to cut her in half, she sidestepped and brought her arm up with her hand straight, palm facing them. In a smooth arc she brought down the side of her hand against the back of his neck. He fell to the ground out cold.

Angered, all the men circled around her and charged as one. Tye was not one to play with her opponent and sidestepped quickly when they were within one foot of her. For one man, it was too late to stop his swing and he cut into the man who was charging behind Tye. Blood shot out, hitting Tye's arm and face. The man cried out in shock of taking down his own man and let go of his sword that still penetrated the others stomach. Tye was swift in her deadly bow, thrusting out the bottom of her palm, hitting his nose and thrusting it upwards.

There were three more opponents, they all seemed hesitant to attack.

"Must I do everything myself!" Shouted the large man from the horse. He jumped off and pulled a huge broad sword from a sheath on the side of his horse. He walked confidently up the small circle of men around Tye, whose eyes stayed cold and black. There was not a scratch on her still except for a blood splattering on her side and face.

He paused a moment next to his men who crowded behind him waiting. This girl had taken out three men and hadn't a scratch on her. He would have to be careful.

Taking a step forward he swung, with speeds only a very strong person could accomplish with such a heavy weapon, his broad sword directly down onto her. This time she didn't move. Instead she brought her right arm up slowly and let the sword hit it directly. There was a loud clang. He pushed down on her arm, trembling from the effort, but she didn't move or make any sign of discomfort, just held up her arm under the weight of the sword.

After a few moments he slid the sword back, cutting off a portion of her sleeve that covered her arm. It revealed a large black scale covering the area on her arm where his sword would have hit. He took a few steps back.

"What are you!" He shouted, him and his men backing away.

"You really shout be careful with the people you try to get. Never know who's going to end up getting you." Her voice was deep and emotionless. She took a step towards them. They took off running. She chuckled deeply a moment before remembering that Rei was still hurt. She took off running, not even slowing when the cliff came up. She just let herself fall and land gracefully on the ledge where he lay unconscious.

Slowly she bent down, the emotionless eyes becoming worried. Her finger brushed his cheek a moment. She felt warmth and a pulse beneath her fingertips. The beast calmed, but before it went back inside it lifted Rei into its arms and jumped up to the ledge. It laid him down gently on the ground and finally gave up its control. Tye's body fell forward onto Rei's body as if protecting it even when she was unconscious.

xXx

That was how Iban found them a few minutes later. He had heard a commotion when he was walking back and came as soon as he could. After looking at the area and seeing the dead bodies he concluded that they had been attacked and had somehow fought them off. He was greatly impressed since neither one had had any weapons.

Iban checked them over for injuries. Finding nothing serious he lifted them both up, one in each arm and rushed back to camp. He was mad at himself for not even considering that bandits would be around. He had figured that since there was a huge party with knights nearby that they would keep away from this area. He had been wrong and his students had paid. He would not make that mistake again.

xXx

When Iban got back with the two and explained what happened, everyone rushed around, gathering people back into groups and making sure that everyone was there. An emergency healing tent was set up and two cots for Tye and Rei were placed inside. Healers checked over them and found nothing seriously wrong.

"Exhaustion" The healer explained was the reason that they had not awoken yet.

It was decided that the party would move on and Tye, Rei, and Iban, who would stay with them, would catch up when they were completely healed again. A temporary teacher was assigned to his group of pages from one of the knights that came along the guard the party.

When the party set out the next morning Tye and Rei had still not regained consciousness.

xXx

Alrighty sry if it's a little short. I have to get ready to leave tomorrow. Well I hope u all enjoyed it and ill update as soon as I can! Don't forget to check out the site every once in a while for when I add more stuff to it.


	21. The Journey Part 5: Downplaying

Ok back from my trip. I am updating the site tonight as well so there should be some new things on there.

Once again the link isi have to put dashes between the wordsso that the link will show up because for somreason fanfiction will not allow my to post the link. remember there is no www. in the beginning5thsister.t-r-i-p-o-d.c-o-mjust delete the dashesWell hope u enjoy chapter 21!

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_"Soon." A deep feminine voice sounded form all around her. Tye opened her eyes to complete darkness. She could make nothing out, not her feet below her or her hands in front of her face. She could not walk or move, it was as if the darkness was holding her in place. _

_"What is soon?" Tye shouted after a moments struggle. _

_"Soon." The voice spoke once again. She could feel heat and then black eyes flashed in front of her face as fire engulfed her._

xXx

Tye shot up in bed gasping for breath. She looked around the small tent. There were dark green walls and a flap in front of her. Another bed sat a foot away from hers on the right. Rei lay sound asleep upon it. Tye swung her feet over, feet touching the cool earth below her. She shook her head to clear it a few moments then stood up. She had her night cloths on; a loose shirt and some baggy pants.

She walked a few steps over to where Rei was laying. She leaned over and looked him over up and down. He seemed ok. She was about to lean back again when his eyes snapped open. For a moment he looked confused before he remembered all that had happened. He pushed back on his hand to sit up wincing slightly. He lifted his hand to rub the back of his head. It hurt worse then anything he could remember at that moment. He could already feel the bump forming.

"You ok?" Tye asked after a moment sitting down on his bed.

"Yea I think so. Just hit my head." He said in a rough morning voice that came out in a croak. She found a pitcher of water and two glasses sitting between their two beds on a small table and poured him a glass. Rei took in thankfully and swallowed a few gulps before setting it back down.

"Thanks" he mumbled. "How about you?" he asked looking her over.

"I'm alright." She replied and shrugged.

He shot up and grabbed her shoulders. He had suddenly realized something. Rei had overheard stories his parents had told his sister about walking alone in the woods where bandits were and what they would do to pretty young girls if they found her.

"They didn't… I mean… They didn't…" He said finding it hard to say it out loud. He had left her all alone for those men to do whatever to her. Rei's fingers tightened on her shoulders hoping it wasn't like how he feared. He had been a fool to be tricked into falling like that. He would never forgive himself if anything had happened.

"No. Nothing like that anyways." She said and he sighed, visibly relieved.

There were a few moments of silence.

"Then what did happen after I was knocked out." The way he said those final words, Tye could tell he was upset with himself.

"That's kind of what I wanted to talk about. You see I was hoping that we could... down play a few facts when telling the story." She started.

"You mean lie?" He asked.

"Not exactly." She said slowly thinking over how to phrase it. "It's just… I would prefer to not draw too much attention to myself." Tye told him.

"If you tell me what really happened then I will agree to whatever story you wish to tell others." He said simply.

She took the next few minutes summarizing what happened, leaving out the part about her transformation. He didn't need to know that just yet.

By the time she finished Iban parted the flap in the front of the tent and walked in.

"Good you two are finally up." He smiled at both of them. "Are you both alright?" Once they nodded he continued. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, I would suggest changing into something more… appropriate." He commented, eyes twinkling with mirth when he saw them both look down and realize they were in sleeping cloths and blush. Tye quickly got off Rei's bed and sat down on her own. Neither one looked over at the other. "There is a curtain that you can pull from the back wall that will separate the two sides so you may each change. Your cloths and other things were put under your beds." With that he left the room.

A few minutes late, both Tye and Rei exited the small tent and walked over to the fire where Iban was cooking.

"After we eat I expect a full summary of what happened." He stated, handing them each a bowl of stew. They ate in silence, Tye eating slowly, developing their story while she stuffed herself with stew. Afterwards Iban took their bowls and set them off to the side to be cleaned later. He leaned back on his elbows, obviously waiting for them to begin.

Rei nodded to Tye to begin. After pausing a moment, she began. Tye quickly told of them going to the correct spot and being attacked before they could begin their activity. She told Iban how they both fought against the bandits.

"They must have underestimated us because we are children, but we were fighting them off fairly well. One of us mentioned how a large party was nearby with knights. That seemed to scare them into running off. As they were running back, one clipped Rei on the back of the head knocking him out. I went over to pull him away from the cliff so that he didn't fall and must have passed out from exhaustion. I guess you found us a little bit later." Tye finished. Iban nodded his head.

"I apologize to both of you for leaving you alone in the forest. I did not think bandits would be in that area. I should have been more wary." He stated. "Now how about you two take these to the river just to the left of this clearing and wash them for me." Both Tye and Rei nodded and picked up the bowls. When they were out of sight behind a group of trees, Iban took out a small object from his pocket. It glowed bright red. He nodded having his suspicions confirmed. The whole story had been a complete lie.

xXx

They decided to wait until morning to begin riding to catch up to the others. Camp was cleaned up easily and different parts of the tent were distributed amongst each person's things so no one was carrying too heavy a load so that they could move quicker. They set a quick pace, much faster then the party they were trying to catch up to.

Iban seemed to become a little more protective of them. Ever since they left the small camping area, he would not let them leave his sight. Tye once tried to walk a little ways away into the bushes so that she could relieve herself, only to be stopped by Iban. It had taken a good twenty minutes to make him understand why she, as a girl, would not go with Rei or him nearby. It was getting a little aggravating, but she could understand why he was doing this. He felt guilty.

xXx

Finally after hours of keeping such a fast pace, they decided to make camp for the night. The horses were exhausted and panting and Tye and Rei were falling asleep in their saddles.

They had a quick dinner of dried meat and some bread, before setting out the sleeping pallets.

"We are making good time. We should catch up with the group by tomorrow afternoon." Iban stated looking over to them to talk about setting a faster pace tomorrow. Apparently he was talking to himself, since he found that they both were collapsed on top of their pallets fast asleep.

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Yea I kno a little short. I just wanted to get this out since it is a day later then I planned. Don't worry next update will be quick since I already have it planned out and everything. So review and let me kno what you think. I know not much happened but it's always nice to hear from you guys.

Don't forget to check out the site for new stuff. I will be adding things over the next few days.


	22. The Journey Part 6: Nothing too Exciting

5thsister.T-r-i-p-o-d.c-o-m

Ok guys sry it took so long. I am only going to be able to update once a week for the next couple of weeks. I have my AP exams coming up and teachers are really pounding the work on us. I will update every mon or tues depending on how much work I get over the weekend. Sorry again. I will be able to update more often when all this school stuff is over with. Well hope you enjoy!

xXx

Tye was slumped over in her saddle. They had been riding for hours. Her whole body was sore from all the riding they had done the past couple of days. They had left early in the morning that day and set off at an even faster pace then the day before. Breaks were fewer and shortened. Iban was set on catching up to the rest of the party today, not wanting to risk running into the same bandits without anyone else. He knew that he could fight pretty much anything these forest dwelling bandits had to offer, but did not want to risk it when he had to watch over the safety of his two students as well.

Rei wasn't doing much better. He tried to stay upright, but eventually slumped down as well.

"Keep up you two." Iban called over his shoulder for the tenth time. They should be getting close to the party. He had taken every shortcut he knew and had kept a fast pace. But he still did not see any signs of a party passing through recently. They must have been faster then he thought. He sighed and stopped his horse.

"Alright we can have a short break."

Tye and Rei practically leaped off of their horses. Iban pulled out his water skin and threw it over to Tye. She caught it and sat down against a tree, stretching out her legs. Rei sat down beside her and took a drink once she was done.

Iban was about to get off of his horse when all of the sudden they could hear piercing screaming echoing through the trees. They all froze and listened. When it happened again Iban resettled himself on the saddle.

"Both of you stay here." He said firmly.

"Are you sure. I mean if there is trouble..." Rei started.

"No! Both of you will remain here understood." He said. They both nodded and he took off running.

"He feels guilty." Tye said when he was out of sight. "I think he blames himself for us being attacked before since he left us alone."

"But how could he know that bandits would dare come that close to our party and attack us?"

Tye shrugged. "I don't think it matters. He still blames himself."

They sat in silence for a while. Trying to hear what was going on. It had only been a couple of minutes before they heard the sound of a twig snap a few feet away. Tye's head snapped in its direction.

"My, my isn't this sweet." A cold voice said as a figure stepped out from behind a tree. Rei shot up instantly in a defending position. Tye got up slower, knowing what it was. It had been so long since she had been attacked by a shadow that she almost forgot that people were still after her.

"My masters will be pleased that I have found you, my little dragon pet." The figure was covered in a black cloak, his face hidden from view.

"Is this one of those shadows Tye?" Rei whispered to her. She nodded. They didn't have any weapons, Iban was who knew where, and they weren't near any form of civilization. This was bad. Very bad. At least last time they were near a castle, and Rei would have somewhere to run to for help had she been killed. But here there was no one who could save him and he couldn't beat a shadow by himself. _At least not yet._ Tye thought to herself, knowing she would, eventually, have to tell him why he felt so protective of her, yet was afraid to do so.

The shadow circled around them slowly like he had all the time in the world.

"Do not worry about your dear teacher finding us. He is otherwise…occupied at the moment." The shadow said and chuckled.

Panic rose up in Tye. They hadn't heard any sound from the direction that Iban had gone into. What if he was really hurt? She took a deep breath to calm herself. Getting upset and worried would not help their situation.

The cloaked shadow was circling them again. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Rei next to her. He appeared to be calm, but one glance at his eyes told her how nervous he really was.

The shadow still had done nothing so she didn't know what its special power was. Her ears picked up a sound behind them and she turned around just in time to see a large log flying towards them. She had just enough time to drag Rei down to the ground as it hurtled above them. She panted giving her heart a moment to calm down. At least now they knew what it could do; move objects with its mind.

Her and Rei stood up quickly, side by side, looking in all directions for anything else that would fly their way. The shadow chuckled before she heard a soft 'oof' come from Rei. She turned quickly to see him be thrown into the air and slam into a tree. She heard the loud thunk as his head slammed into the rough bark. He slid down leaving a trail of blood across the brown wood.

Fury rose up in Tye. The sight of his blood dripping down the bark added to it making it build and build until it was practically choking her. Her fists clenched and her eyes blackened over. Tye dashed towards the shadow, anger showing in her dark orbs. She easily dodged all the objects he threw at her. Logs, branches, rocks all flew past her head, but nothing touched her. When she was within a few feet her arm rose up above her to strike. Her claws descended upon the cloaked shadow. Wait… claws? When did she get claws? Tye shook that from her mind, she didn't have time to think about that now. Her claws slashed through the dark cloak and into the shadow. It flung back its head and screamed before it turned to black dust and drifted off into the breeze cloak and all.

Tye fell to her knees breathing deeply eyes turning back to their normal green. She looked down at her right arm. It was longer then normal, her fingers, instead of having three sections like normal, had four sections and was long and slim. Small black scales surrounded the long nails that extended and could be withdrawn.

Suddenly she cried out in pain. Bones cracked and snapped back into place. The scales withdrew into her skin and the claws pulled back into her fingers until they were back to their normal size. Once it was done she fell forward onto her palms taking in gulps of air and blinking away the tears of pain. After a moment, she slowly stood on shaking knees. Another deep breath and she was calmed again.

She heard a moan sound from behind her and spun around quickly. Rei was rubbing the back of his head and sitting up. Tye rushed over and knelt down next to him.

"Are you alight?" She asked concerned.

"I'll live." He said. "But I don't think it is good to be knocked out twice in less than four days." Rei winced when he sat up all the way. Tye looked behind him. The back of his head where he hit it didn't look to bad. His back must have taken most of the blow. Blood was soaking through his shirt. The bark had dug into his skin as he slide down the trunk.

"You might want to go wash up and clean out the cuts on your back." Tye said. Standing up and jogging over to the horses. In the commotion they had walked a good distance away not wanting to be near the fight, but not wanting to leave their humans. She dug through one of the packs and return to Rei with a small bundle of leaves.

"If you mix these with water and pour it down your back it should help some." She said. It had been one of the herbs they had all been instructed to bring with them on the trip just in case. She held out her hand to help him up. He winced again slightly as he took it and she pulled him up.

"I better grab a new shirt." He commented absent mindedly. It was strangely quiet in the aftermath of the fight. Rei seemed to be thinking about something. He grabbed a new shirt and headed off to the river that was close by; they only stopped in places that had water nearby so that they could fill up their water skins. Once he was gone, Tye walked over to the horses and brought them back to the area Iban had left them. They were still very skittish, but eventually she convinced them to come back. She took both water skins that were on each horse and walked over to the tree that had lines of blood dripping down it. She squirted the first water skin over it until it was empty, then did the same with the second. She was glade that all the blood had washed away once the second one was empty.

Once she finished she could hear Rei returning. He was walking a bit stiffly, but otherwise seemed ok.

"Alright." He began as soon as she looked over to him. "I can believe that you can take out some bandits by yourself, but a shadow? Remember we have been attacked by one before, so I know how powerful they are." His eyebrows were furrowed, his face accusing as he spoke. Tye sighed. She knew he wouldn't just accept that she beat it.

"If I promise to tell you soon, can we leave it alone for a while?" She asked quietly. She knew he had a right to know. He was involved now and deserved to have all the information, but she wasn't quite ready to let someone else in on her secret.

"Will you tell me everything?" He asked his face softening.

"I promise." She said. He nodded and went to stuff his bloody shirt in one of the saddle bags. Tye left to fill the water skins up again. When she came back Rei had a small fire going. It was starting to get dark and Iban still had not returned.

"Do you think something happened to him?" Rei asked when she sat down at the fire across form him. Tye shrugged and threw a twig into the fire.

"We don't know how far off he went or what happened. He could be fine."

"Or the shadow could have done something to him." Rei said quietly. Tye didn't have anything to say to that, so they sat in silence. The small fire popped and crackled and horses nibbled on the small patches of grass.

For what felt like hours they sat together in silence waiting for any sign that Iban was coming back. They ate some dried meat and bread for dinner. The sun had long since set when they finally heard the sound of horse hooves on the dirt path. Both of their heads shot up and watched as the figure on the horse drew closer.

Iban gave a tired smile to them. "Sorry to have left you for so long." He said as he got off his horse. Tye handed him some dried meat which he took thankfully. "There had been an accident and a lot of people had been hurt. I have had some training in healing so I had to stay and help. Anything happen while I was gone?" He asked as he nibbled the meat.

Rei locked eyes with Tye a moment before saying. "Nothing too exciting." She couldn't help but give a small smile at that which he returned with one of his own as Iban ate unaware.

xXx

Ok guys sry I had to make you wait a while for this, but I hope you enjoyed this. My next update will be Monday or Tuesday. Ick I cant wait until Ap tests are over. I already did 3 hours of hw and im still not done. Well review at let me know what you think. Good or bad I like hearing from you.


	23. The Journey Part 7: Finally Over

OK sorry I couldn't post this yesterday. I have been sick the last couple of days and needed another day to finish. The next update will have to be late in the week next week since that is the week of my exams, but once they are done I can start updating more quickly again. Ill update the site tomorrow since it is getting pretty late. Well hope you enjoy. I cant wait until tests are over and I can start writing a lot more. Sorry if this seems fillerish. Lots more stuff is coming up so don't worry.

5thsister.t-r-i-p-o-d.c-o-m

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They set off again very early the next morning. Rei had, had to sleep on his stomach, which wasn't too comfortable when you don't have a pillow to put your head on and are stuck with an elbow. He and Tye were both half asleep as they rode, neither one getting much sleep that night, worried over the fact that the shadow may have alerted others as to their location. They seemed to have gotten lucky so far in that they were destroyed before they had a chance to call for reinforcements. Rei hoped their luck would last a little longer.

They had been riding non-stop for four hours when they caught sight of the end of the party. Both Tye and Rei sighed in relief. Now they would be able to slow down some. An alert was sent up and the party halted. Iban, Rei, and Tye walked through the large crowd to where their group was. They could hear whispered voices as they passed. Unconsciously Tye moved closer to Rei slightly, uncomfortable with all the attention.

After what seemed like hours, although it couldn't have been more then three minutes, they finally arrived at their group. Tye and Rei were greeted loudly and warmly, until Iban told every to quiet down and get back into positions. The party started up again soon after everyone calmed down.

Their group, minus Ron and his gang since they really didn't care, had a whispered conversation as they walked. Tye relayed what she had told Iban exactly, leaving out the same parts as before. Once their curiosity was quenched it got quiet again. Tye and Rei were both so sore from all the hours of riding the few days before. She could see that he was riding a bit stiffly, wincing slightly every so often. Tye could tell his back was hurting, but there really wasn't anything they could do about it now. She just hoped the cuts didn't open again.

xXx

Many small fires littered the camping ground that night. They had stopped a few minutes before the sun went down to set up camp and have dinner. Now they were spreading out their bedrolls and preparing to go to sleep.

After laying his roll down, Rei stood back up to wash before bed. He winced as the skin on his back pulled at the movement. Iban had been noticing him doing this any time he moved all afternoon.

"Are you alright Rei?" He asked. Rei paused as everyone's attention was drawn to him.

"Yes." He said simply. "Just a little sore from all the riding." He commented, face blank. With that he picked up his washing supplies and walked off to a nearby stream that was hidden by bushes. Mostly everyone had already washed up and were back so he hoped that he could find a deserted spot.

Everyone was busy setting themselves up for the night and didn't notice Iban walked away soundlessly from their small circle.

xXx

Everyone was already asleep by the time Iban returned. He looked over to where Tye and Rei were sleeping. He knew more had gone on when he was away then they were telling him. The fact that Rei had lied about just being sore was proof enough. Of course, Iban knew he probably was sore from riding, just like everyone else was, but the fact that he showed signs of pain anytime he moved his back told him something else was going on.

That's why he had followed Rei to the stream earlier that night. Once he had pulled off his tunic, it gave Iban the opportunity to see the jagged scratches running down his back. They didn't look particularly deep, but they were in just the right places to cause him pain whenever he moved. At least now he understood why he saw traces of blood on leaves by one of the trees that morning.

xXx

The next couple of days they followed the same routine. They would wake up at sunrise, ride for a few hours, take an hour break for lunch and resting, then set out for a few more hours before stopping at sun set and going to bed.

Tye barely had to pay attention to what she was doing anymore. It was the same day after day. Her mind was too busy to be bored like the others were though. She kept going over in her head possible conversations with Rei and how to explain to him what she was and what he will become. Her friends were used to her being pretty quiet so they didn't notice anything about her lost in thought attitude over the past few days.

It was early afternoon about four days later that they first stepped onto the sand. She looked over to Rei who had closed his eyes and was breathing in deeply. He must have missed his home here in the desert. Marcase stopped them. Luckily it wasn't too windy today, so they wouldn't have to wear too much protection against the blowing sand that would make them even hotter then they already were.

"We only have a few more miles to go before we arrive in the village. If we make good time, we can make it there by late afternoon. That means no lunch break." A few people groaned. "There will be a huge feast tonight if we can make it there in time." He told them which seemed to inspire everyone into riding quickly today. "Just remember we are visitors here, so we must follow most of their customs. I will not have any of you embarrassing me is that clear?" He shouted. He was met with a loud chorus of yes'.

With that said he started the party marching again.

xXx

The first couple hours were exciting. Most of them had never been to the desert before and were taking in all of their surroundings, from the endless sand to the occasional small creature that would duck and hide in a hole in the ground to escape the sun. After those first few hours though it was just hot.

Tye had her sleeves rolled up and an extra shirt tied around her head like a band to keep the sweet out of her eyes.

Some people were already showing signs of sunburn, making the hot ride even more uncomfortable. Tye's skin was very fair and she worried that her sun burn would be even worse since she had never developed a tan before. It wasn't that she never went outside, she did, the sun just never really affected her skin. But she didn't know how it would react to the sun here; the constant, blistering sun that was never covered by a cloud.

At one point Rei pulled her off to the side slightly.

"Here put some of this on your face and arms." He said handing her a small jar of balm. "It should protect you from the sun a little. Your skin is so light you may get burned pretty badly." Rei said. She smiled in thanks and quickly put some on her arms and face making sure to rub the white balm in all the way.

"Did I get it all?" She asked after she finished her face. She heard him chuckle.

"You have just a bit..." He reached out and touched just below her right eye. Their eyes locked as he brushed away the last remnants of the balm. His fingers stayed just a moment longer then needed before he straightened back up and cleared his throat.

"I guess we should get back to the group." He said and Tye nodded in agreement before they trotted back into place.

xXx

The sun had set about half way when a cry was heard from the crowd saying they spotted the village. Tye turned to the direction that had been pointed to. The sun was setting just behind the small buildings giving it a slight glow as a soft breeze picked up sand and twirled it in front of her view, twinkling in the light. Tye's breath caught in her throat from the view and from the collective gasp she knew she wasn't the only one. This long journey was finally over, although, she couldn't help but feel as if a new one was just about to begin.

xXxXxXxXxXx

OK done with chapter 23. I hope you liked it. Review and let me know what you think.


	24. Ostar

OK I have no excuse. Im so sorry. I had never meant for the update to take this long. I wanted to take a small break once I had finally finished all my final papers and then I just kept putting it off until here it is over a month after I said I would update. Again I am sorry it wont happen again. I will post a message letting you guys know if im going to take a break next time and never for this long. Don't worry I am not giving up on this story.

Also I wanted to see what you guys thought about something. Many people are reviewing and saying you want to hear about the other sisters. My idea was two make this into two books. The first one will be about Tye and the second one the sisters will come in. What do u all think? Or should I just keep this one long story? Review and let me know

I am fully prepared to hear angry reviews about how long I have taken to update.

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The town was nothing like Tye had expected. She had heard people whispering about the Bazhir who lived in the desert before they had left. All that had been mentioned was that they lived in small tents right on the sand with no roads. But this place was nothing like that. Yes, there were a few small tents, but for the most part there were buildings made out of some sort of clay with holes for windows and wooden doors. This was a permanent town and did not travel around like many other Bazhir tribes did. Everything seemed to be set up against the two roads that crossed over one another making a't' shape. In the center a large building rose up where, Tye guessed, the village leader and his family lived. The roads weren't like back in Tortall. They were made of sand flattened and hardened over years of being walked on until it almost was like walking on a dirt road.

Torches lined the sides of the streets as the large party walked into the town. People came out of heir houses to look at them pass by and young children would sometimes run along beside them. A few pages smiled and waved down to them, but most looked anxiously ahead to the tall dark man who stepped out of the large house in the center of town. He must have been well over six feet tall. A smile graced his face exposing perfectly white teeth. A crowd of people already started to gather around and behind him. In the front of the party Marcase held up a fist and everyone stopped.

"We welcome you, Lord Marcase, knights, teachers, and pages to Ostar, our small tribe, and hope that you enjoy your stay here. I am Gamijei the head man. We are greatly honored that Ostar has been chosen for the two month training for the next couple of years. I am sure you are all tired and hungry. Please follow us to the south street where tables have been set up and a feast has been prepared. After that we will show you where your people have set up tents where you will be staying."

"Tortall thanks you for your hospitality." Marcase said with a bow. After that he ordered everyone off of their horses.

"At the end of South Street wooden posts have been set up for your horses. Before you sit down please tie them up to the posts. We will have people give food and water to them after we have all eaten." The large crowd of Bazhir and Tortallians followed behind the tall man, down West Street and right onto South Street. Wooden tables were set up in rows with piles of steaming food lying in the center. Tye found it hard to ignore her growling stomach as she walked by the tables to tie up Corm. There was foamy drool around his mouth and his veins could bee seen more clearly. He continued his deep panting as he leaned against the post for support.

"Don't worry they will give you food and water soon." She patted his neck in comfort. There wasn't much else she could do right now. All the horses would be given water and food after the feast. She hoped he would be ok till then. After a final farewell pat, Tye turned around and headed back towards the tables. After spotting where all her friends seemed to be gathering, she quickly darted through crowds of people to make it over to them. It was loud with talking and laughter making it hard to hear. Tye grabbed the open seat next to Rei and sighed. Her legs and back were sore from days of riding and it felt nice to be able to sit and relax slightly. Although the loud noise was starting to give her a headache.

After everyone had found a seat they were given permission to eat and all the riders dug in, hungry after a long day on horseback. There were a couple foods she was used to as well as a few new ones that she had not seen before. Rei had to explain to them all what they were and she was surprised to find most of them pretty tasty. After the last of the food had been eaten, everyone sat back completely satisfied.

"I will never eat again," declared Rikash as he pushed his plate away. Cala and Able giggled at that but groaned when it caused their over stuffed stomachs to hurt. Camric was watching Leo finish off yet another plate of food.

"I don't know where it all goes." Camric stated. Leo was pretty small and had lean muscles, like Rei, which was strange since he ate more then two bulky pages combined. The table laughed and held their sides in pain as Leo went for one last plate.

Two boys approached the laughing group. They looked over Tye's head to where Rei sat and smiled. Both were obviously Bazhir from their skin tone and facial features and were around medium height.

"Greetings Rei." The blue eyed one said with a grin.

Rei looked up from the table. A smile appeared on his face when he saw the two.

"Kalim, Congee what are you two doing here?" He asked standing up and walking over to them. Friendly handshakes were exchanged with large smiles.

"Our fathers decided to send us over so that we could train among the Tortallians this year. They thought it would be a good learning experience." Kalim said before looking over to the people at the table Rei had been sitting with. "And who are these?" He asked.

"These are my friends from Tortall. This is Rikash," Rikash rose and gave a slight graceful bow before returning to his seat. "Leo," Leo waved before diving back into his plate. "Camric," Camric stood up and shook their hands. "And this…"

"Well it is very nice to meet all of you." Kalim said with a flash of a smile.

Rei cleared his throat. "And this is Yani and Susan and their sisters Cala and Able." All four waved at them slightly. Cala had to pinch Able's arm to stop her from saying anything about them completely ignoring that the girls were there. "Lastly this is Tye, " Who gave them a slight nod, "These are **all** my friends from Tortall." Rei said emphasizing all. While some Bazhir were getting better with their treatment of women because they had proved themselves equal as warriors to men, there were still some who treated them as lower.

Kalim narrowed his eyes at Rei a moment before plastering on another smile. They were starting to creep Tye out a bit. He seemed to smile too often and they didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"My apologies." He said with a slight bow. "Well we must return to our table now. It was very nice to meet all of you." Kalim flashed another smile before turning around and walking away. Congee nodded to Rei before following behind.

Rei sat back down a sighed slightly. "Sorry about that." He said quietly.

"That's alright." Susan said and grinned at him. "We were warned before hand that some people might not be as accepting." She said with a shrug. "Besides, don't forget, you were like that not too long ago."

"I've changed." He said simply before picking up his glass and drinking it.

"We've noticed." Susan said quietly, catching Tye's eye and winking. Yani and her turned to one another and started giggling. The others at the table looked at them curiously wondering what had set them off into laughing this time while Tye looked down trying to hide her blush.

They were told to stay seated while their dishes were cleared away.

"Now before you all go to your assigned tents, we would like to inform you of tomorrow's schedule. Morning exercises with begin at dawn; this is mandatory for all years. After that we will have breakfast; all meals will be taken in this area for the duration of your stay." Gamijei began, "After that the years will be split up into different areas to learn history and culture. When that is concluded the first two years will go to basic practice, while the third and fourth years will go to focused training. Lunch will be served after that. Then everyone will have their regular subjects. They will be shorter, but you will still have assignments like you normally do. Next there will be more basic practice for first and second years and focused training for third and fourth years. Then Dinner will be served. After that you will have some free time for doing assignments before lights out. Now Marcase and your group leaders will show you to your tents." He bid them farewell before leaving.

"Alright everyone stand with your groups!" Marcase bellowed. "Your group leaders will come to you and show you to your assigned tent. There will be no tent swapping; they are set up differently for groups with all boys and for groups with boys and girls."

Iban came over to Tye and smiled as they waited for Ronald and his gang to make their way over. Of course they had chosen the table farthest away from Tye and her group. Finally they were all gathered together.

"Alright everyone all the tents are set up behind East Street. Our tent is in the southern-most row in the back. It may take longer to get to, but we will be closer to the horses and a few of the practice grounds." He stated taking them up South Street and turning right onto East. "Since we have girls in our group we will have one of the bigger tents."

"Lucky us." Ronald said sarcastically under his breath. His two followers laughed behind him. Either Iban didn't hear it or he pretended not to, because he just continued on without acknowledging the comment. Just outside of town beyond East Street a large group of tents were set up. Iban turned right directly taking them all the way to the end of the tents before setting out to the very back.

Their tent had a small room in the middle with two larger rooms on each side. Each one had its own flap to enter through.

"Alright girls on the left and boys on the right. Now that you know where the tent is, go grab your things from your horses and come back. There are torches set around the area where the horses are so you can just cut around the corner towards the light you see a little ways away. Same thing for coming back. The ones around the tent will be here for another half hour, just make sure you are back before then." He said pointing towards the south. "Stay together just in case though. I'll be in my room in case you need anything." He told them before going inside.

Tye liked the idea of being close to Corm. They had grown very close and because of Daine, she was pretty sure he was able to understand her too. She didn't tell anyone else, but sometimes she would just go out to the stables and sit in his stall talking to him about everything that was going on. Quietly of course so no one else could hear, but still it felt nice to be able to talk to someone and Corm always seemed to be listening.

His face was buried in a basket of food when she walked up to him. She smiled and greeted him with a pat on the neck. He flicked his ears but kept on eating. She took out a brush from one of her bags to groom him real quick before heading back, getting the sand and sweat out of his coat.

She was just about done when she heard someone walk over to her. She looked up to see Rei.

"I just wanted to tell you that everyone else went back already. We probably should too since the torches will be out soon."

"Alright." She said putting down the brush and picking up her other bags. "Were you waiting for me?" She asked when they started walking together.

"N-no. I had just finished." He said looking away from her. She smiled slightly and looked in the other direction, out onto the desert. He was taking everything that had happened really well. Not once had he come over and tried to force information out of her. Tye knew that soon she would have to give him answers soon. It would endanger him if he remained ignorant much longer. Especially if he was who she thought he was. But for now she didn't want to add anymore worries onto him. Suddenly she paused a moment. Rei turned to her with a questioning look.

"Sorry it's nothing." She said giving him a slight smile before walking on. For a moment she had swore that she saw something moving out there, but that must be wrong because who goes traveling on the desert alone at night.

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Sorry again. I cant believe how long ive made you all wait. -Gives everyone a cookie-

Oh and im putting up a map of how Ostar is set up on the website. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter even tho0ugh not much action. Don't worry things will happen soon.


	25. Hard First Day

OK you guys. Chap. 25! Sry ive been on vacation and I didn't have internet access until now. I finally found a restaurant that had free internet! So I figured I would take advantage and put out a chapter while I could. Plus I finally got the chance to snag a car for a bit from one of my family members to go to this place. So hope you enjoy!

Oh yea just incase you are having trouble getting to the site I made it my homepage. Just go to my name and click on the link. I have fixed up the picture of ostar to include where they train and where they have classes. Let me know if there is anything else on the site that you think I should put up.

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Tye was woken up the next morning by loud yelling. She groaned as she sat up. That night's sleep had not been very pleasant. Tye had gotten used to the beds at the palace. Here they only had mats laid out on the floor. No one had expected it to get so cold during the night. During the day it had been so hot it was almost unbearable, yet, during the night she couldn't stop shaking. Plus sand seemed to get everywhere. Needless to say, she had, had better nights.

Iban came in smiling. Tye didn't feel the need to muster up the strength to smile back. That didn't seem to phase him though as he clapped his hands loudly waking up the others.

"Alright everyone!" He shouted. "Time to get up for morning exercises. We will be leaving in five minutes. I suggest you get up and put some clothing on as quickly as you can because that is when we are leaving no matter if you are ready or not." He gave one last grin before going to wake up the boys. Tye grabbed some pants and a shirt and quickly threw them on. After pinning up her hair, she stepped out of the tent flap. Leo and Rikash were standing there. Leo still seemed asleep. His eyes were red and they tended to blink a lot. Rikash was perfect looking as usual. Cloths neat without a spec of dirt or sand, Tye wasn't sure how he pulled this off in the desert, Hair tied back with out a strand out of place. He greeted her was a smile and a slight bow.

"Good morning Tye. Did you sleep well?" He asked politely. It was fairly obvious that she hadn't. There were bags under her eyes and her hair was disarrayed even more so then usual. She growled slightly and leaned against a pole that held up the tent. Slowly more and more people started coming out and standing with them. Rikash greeted everyone the same way, receiving similar responses from everyone as Tye, except from Rei who looked genuinely happy, greeting Rikash back with a smile and slap on the back. He said good morning to everyone before saying he had to meet up with some old friends and took off running.

Once everyone else was outside, Iban came out and told them to follow him. He led them directly south. There was a large area dedicated completely towards training. Already pages were lining up. The instructors stood in front with the pages facing towards the direction of the tents. It only took a few more moments until all the pages were lined up in even rows on the training grounds.

Tye couldn't help but look around to find Rei. He had left so quickly that morning, she hadn't gotten a chance to ask where he was going. She finally spotted him on the opposite side standing with the two boys who had come over to their table to night before. He was laughing and talking with them. She had never seen him look so happy. Rei must have really missed being here where he grew up. That may be the reason he always seemed so unhappy and a bit grouchy back in Tortall.

Rei caught her eye after she had been looking at him for a few seconds. His smile never left his face as he gave her a slight nod. She gave a slight smile back before turning to Iban in the front.

Each instructor led their group through the same morning stretches. As the pages started to wake up they would talk amongst themselves as they did the exercises. Tye happened to notice a man circling around the grounds watching them. She leaned forward and tapped Rikash.

"Who's that?" She whispered nodding in the man's direction. He looked up and his eyes widened.

"That's Talen!" He exclaimed. She gave him a confused look. "You've never heard of him?" She shook her head no. "Well you know the third and fourth years go into focused training." Tye nodded. "That means that they focus on a specific fighting style and master it as best as they can in those two years. Talen teaches the dragon fighting style. He only picks the best of the best to train with him. Hardly anyone ever gets chosen to train with him. I heard last year he didn't pick a single page!"

Tye looked back to the man. He wasn't very tall, a little on the short side actually. His hair was dark, almost black with skin the color of copper. She would guess him to be in his forties, but it was a little hard to tell.

By then practice was over and they were given thirty minutes to go to the bath houses and get dressed and be at breakfast. Ronald and his gang split off from their group to walk on their own. The schedule was so tight here, Tye didn't think she would have any trouble from them while they where here in the desert. She just hoped they didn't try to make up for lost time when they got back to the castle.

xXx

They sat in their normal seats at breakfast. Most were still fairly tired, so there wasn't too much talking going on. Now would be around the time they normally got up. As soon as everyone was seated they were allowed to eat. Rei had told them that he wanted to sit with Kalim and Congee that morning to catch up some more.

"Rei's spending a lot of time with those guys." Susan commented to Yani.

"He's just glad to see them. They haven't seen each other in a long time probably." She replied back. "He's lived in Tortall for a few years and the two years he came here as page they weren't here."

"I heard they were inseparable as children." Rikash commented between bites.

"I don't know what he sees in them." Susan said and wrinkled her nose.

"That's not very nice." Camric said.

"Well you remember how they treated us girls; like we weren't even there" Yani stated.

"It's just how they were brought up. We can't judge them for that." Leo said. After receiving several angry glares from the girls at the table, he added in quickly "Of course you girls will prove that kind of thinking one hundred percent wrong." He let out a relieved breath as the girls seemed to accept this and go back to eating. These girls could be a frightening team when they wanted to be. He never wanted to be on their bad side.

xXx

On the opposite side of town from the training grounds several large tents were set up for teaching. The pages were separated by year and were taught different aspects of Bazhir history and culture. There were a lot of things about their customs that Tye found interesting, but their treatment of women was one thing she could never agree with. She shivered slightly when she thought of growing up in that kind of life.

Afterwards the first and second years were brought back to the training grounds. There a large man stood in front waiting for them. His large hands were clasped behind his back. He was a man in his late thirties, completely bald, with dark skin. The eyes that watched them as they lined up before him were black. Something about him made Tye uneasy.

"I am Meston. I will be your instructor for training before lunch and dinner. Before lunch we will focus on different forms of weaponry. Before dinner we will work on hand to hand combat. When I tell you something, I expect you to remember it. When I show you something, I expect you to be able to do it perfectly the next practice. I move quickly so it is your job to keep up. Any questions?" He glared at the crowd. No one raised their hand. "Good now lets begin."

Practice was tough. They were worked constantly without any chance to stop and rest for a moment. By the time it was over everyone was exhausted.

"I must admit I expected a little more from you Tortalians." Meston said after he declared practice over. "Dismissed." He said before leaving the training grounds.

The rest of the pages sat down to rest for a few moments before going to lunch.

"I can't feel my legs." Able panted out.

"Me either." Cala said.

"I am never walking again." Leo told them as he collapsed next to them. Tye sat down next to them and Rikash and Camric made their way over as well. They sat together quietly, resting before they had to get back up again.

"I don't know if I can make it through another practice with him again today." Camric said. The others nodded in agreement.

"We should probably go to lunch. We don't want to be late." Tye said and stood back up. She had to admit she was pretty tired too. Normally she didn't feel this worn out after a practice. At least they had a bit of a break before they had to make it through another one of his practices.

xXx

Rei didn't sit with them at lunch either. Everyone was too tired to comment much on it. They didn't have much time for lunch, so there wasn't much talking at all.

For regular subjects it was pretty much independent study. They had assignments from each class that they were expected to finish by the end of the week. They were given about an hour each day to work on it. Most pages who had to work with Meston took this time to get in some extra sleep before having to go to hand to hand combat with him.

Tye worked a little on her work, but she was also pretty tired still. She knew it would get easier to follow his tough schedule as the days went on, but this first day was hard. Her muscles were still sore and this constant heat kept her sweating constantly. It didn't put anyone in too good of a mood.

Sooner then anyone would have liked, independent study ended and the first and second years had to go back to the training grounds and to Meston.

xXx

The pages had to gather the last of their strength to drag themselves to the dinner table after hand to hand combat training. They had thought weapons' training in the afternoon was going to be hard. Hand to hand hadn't been much better. In fact it was much worse. Not only were they still sore from the afternoon, but they were pushed even harder.

No one spoke as they all sat in their normal seats. Tye was glade to see that Rei had decided to sit with them for dinner. After everyone had been seated they were told they could begin. It had only been a minute before Rei got up and moved to the other table where Kalim and Congee were.

If she was completely honest with herself, she would admit that she was feeling a little left out of this part of his life. It had taken them a while to finally get close and he seemed so distant all day; going out with his two old friends as often as he could. She tried to be understanding, but that didn't mean that she liked it.

She didn't get a single second alone with him. She had wanted to ask him about her training instructor and to talk with him about her uneasy feeling about him. Tye had learned to trust in her bad feelings sometimes. Especially when they didn't know when the next shadow would show up.

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OK everyone I typed this up as quickly as I could. I didn't kno when I would be bale to get back to this place that has internet so I wanted to take advantage of that. Please feel free to review and tell me if I made any mistakes, like I said I was kind of rushed, but I tried to do the best I could in the time I had. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one will be out soon cuz I already have it all planned out!


	26. Dedicationnot chap

I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is not a chapter. Don't worry but this is not an Authors note either. I wanted to dedicate this page to my good friend Fauna Greywolf who just received some very upsetting news when she got home from her trip. After arriving home she got a phone call telling her, her beloved horse Rhino had passed away Tuesday night. Anyone who has a pet they love can understand how heartbreaking that is. He was her baby boy and he meant the world to her. Since I can not be with her right now I wanted to dedicate this page to her and let her know that all of our best wishes are with her. I love you bunchies Fauna and I will be home as soon as I can.

Love,

Ecks


	27. Conflicts and Surprises

OK so I didn't get this chapter out when I wanted too. I just started college so these past couple of weeks have been really hectic. Now im going to try and get a new chap out every Monday. I know I haven't been so good at updating quickly recently, just try and be a little patient with me. Im not sure what my work load is going to be like and I have work study too. Well here is chapter 26!

p.s. this chap is 2 pages longer then normal.

p.p.s Ban Capall you are 15389723450913645 right and I will go fix it soon.

Also don't forget to check out the site. Feel free to review and tell me things you want me to add or change. Ill keep updating it too. Just go to my profile and click on my website.

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Tye woke up completely sore the next morning. She was not looking forward to morning exercises at all. Everyone was a little slower getting to the training grounds then they were yesterday. They all lined up as they did yesterday, most of them half asleep. It was because of this they didn't notice the person standing in front of the group until after he cleared his throat loudly.

"I talked with your group leaders and they thought it would be a great idea if I was your morning exercise teacher too." Meston grinned widely after hearing the collective moan.

xXx

No one at their table spoke during breakfast. Even Leo, who normally was gorging already on seconds and thirds, wasn't showing his normal enthusiasm and was still working on his first plate. This is how most of the first years were; leaning over their plates half asleep. The older students had endured this first year before and were somewhat used to the rigorous schedule that they had to go through day after day.

Rei was still no where to be seen. Tye was surprised by how much she missed having him around. Even when they were angry at one another, at least he was still nearby. She sighed and looked around. After a minute she spotted him at a table on the opposite side of the street. Deciding that she was being silly and that if she wanted to talk to him she would have to make a little effort, Tye stood up and started walking in his direction. She would just go over and say that she needed to talk with him later. He was still Rei. It wasn't like he was a completely different person.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the bench pushing out as someone stood up. It hit the side of her knee and sent her sideways. She bumped into the person next to her and caught herself on their shoulders before she fell. At that moment he had been taking a sip and her collision caused him to spill all over himself. All laughter and talking stopped immediately.

The boy stood up with his glass and turned around. He was average in height, but still taller then Tye. He looked down at her a minute, blank face to blank face. Tye wondered if he was angry with her, but he just blinked and walked away to get more water. She just shrugged and continued over to Rei. He was gaping at her as she approached.

"Hey I was wondering.." She started only to get interrupted.

"I cant believe you just did that!" Rei exclaimed.

"I just bumped into him. He didn't seem to be upset. Anyways I need to…"

"Don't you know who that is!" Rei interrupted again.

"No I don't." She was starting to get a bit frustrated. "But I came over here because…"

"That was Ian!" He exclaimed again, "A fourth year dragon! Top of his class too!" Kalim and Conjee snickered in the background.

"I don't think she understands." Kalim stated with a smirk.

"He could have killed you!" Rei stated shaking his head. "You're so lucky. He must be in a good mood. I heard he once threw a guy through a wall after he insulted him."

Now Tye was really getting annoyed. He ignores her ever since they get here and now she can't even finish a sentence. Tye hardly ever lost her temper, but he was getting her very close to. Just as she was about to open her mouth to try and speak again an instructor stood up and told them to go to their History and Culture class.

"Here we'll talk later or something." Rei said before taking off with Kalim and Congee.

xXx

Needless to say Tye was very upset throughout the class. She hardly paid attention at all and had to be poked several times my Cala and Able before she responded when the teacher called her name.

By the end of class she had calmed down. She reasoned with herself that she was probably just tired. That was why she had a short temper today. Afternoon practice would help her let out some aggression. With that she walked over to her friends, who had avoided her since she hadn't been in too friendly of a mood before.

They lined up in front of Meston, who stood in front like in the morning.

"From now on you will have a fourth year partner for your afternoon practice. A requirement for graduating from this program is that fourth years help train the beginners. Now each one has been assigned according to personality and abilities. These were not my decisions, so even though I do not agree with some of the pairings," Tye could have sworn that he was looking at her when he said that, "I am not allowed to alter them in anyway. So don't come whining to me when you decide you hate your partner. It was done by magicians who tested each personality. Now fourth years go to your partner." He bellowed.

A boy started walking in her direction right away. She hoped he was going to someone next to her, but that was crushed when he stopped right in front of her. He had short curly hair that reached the tips of his ears, tan skin, much like Rei's, and icy blue eyes that she remembered perfectly from that morning at breakfast.

"I am Ian." He stated simply.

"Tye." She replied.

"I do not like to train in crowded areas. We will move to another area." He told her before turning around and walking. Tye guessed she was supposed to follow and stepped quickly to keep up.

Instead of heading towards town, he headed away into the desert. They walked far away from the training grounds and over one of the dunes. He gracefully walked down the other side, his feet seeming to just skim the surface. Once they reached the bottom she noticed a single tree standing a little ways away. He seemed to be heading in that direction.

Once they reached it, he put his and on the trunk.

"Meet me here from now on for afternoon practice." He said. She nodded. "Today I will show you the starting exercise we will do every day to work out each muscle before we begin training. It will take the whole practice today to learn it, but I expect you to finish it in the first fifteen minutes of practice from now on." He began showing her the movements. None of them were too difficult in the beginning, but they did get harder as they went on. She knew that she could do them easily, but she had to remember to hold back some. On one of the more difficult moves, she made sure to mess up and fall. She stood up to try again when he stopped her.

"Why do you keep holding back?" He asked. "Your body… It wants to do it, but your mind keeps stopping it. Why?"

Telling him that she had more strength and abilities then most people their age and was trying to hide it didn't sound like too good of an idea, so she decided on the next reason.

"Sometimes kids think you are showing off when you do better then most people on something. I make sure that I'm average so that I don't gain even more people who want to play tricks on me and get me kicked out." She said and shrugged.

"Why would people want that?" He asked, head knocked to the side curiously.

"I'm not of noble blood." He nodded once in understanding.

"No one can see you while we are here and nothing that happens here will be discussed outside of this area. So you have no reason to hold back."

Tye hesitated a moment thinking. He didn't seem like the talkative type and what was the harm in showing what she could really do here, as long as she didn't take it too far.

"alright." She gave a slight smirk before she swiftly moved through all of the exercise moves he showed her so far. It felt nice not to have to hold back for once. After she finished she landed and stood still taking a breath to calm her beating heart.

He looked at her a moment before walking over and lifting up her arm. She was confused as he examined it.

"You have had this kind of training before." He stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes" she said pulling her arm back. She didn't like how observant he was. It reminded her of Iban, but at least she could still hide some things from him. It was like this boy saw everything and she didn't like it. It made her uncomfortable and nervous.

He stayed quiet and looked at her. His face not giving anything away. Finally he blinked and nodded.

"You do not have to say more. Let us continue, practice is almost over and there are still a few more movements you need to learn." She let out a breath and watched as he showed her what he needed her to do.

xXx

Tye hurried back to her tent after Ian let her go. She grabbed her bathing supplies and went to the bath house wanting to wash off the sweat and sand before she ate. Afterwards she quickly dropped her stuff back off at her tent and headed over to the table she normally sat at.

To her surprise, Rei was sitting down at their table next to her empty seat. She couldn't help but smile a little as she walked over and sat down, something that both Yani and Susan caught making them both start giggling.

Rei turned to her and smiled. "Hey" he said as she sat before turning back to Rikash and continuing their conversation. Tye figured that he had just wanted a couple days with his two old friends and now he would come back and hang with them. It only took a few moments to realize this was wrong. Kalim and Congee walked over and stood behind her and Rei.

"Good afternoon everyone." Kalim stated with. "Rei would you mind if we sat next to you this lunch period? We have something very important to tell you."

"Well if it's important… Tye do you mind moving down?" He asked. It took Tye a moment to realize what he had asked her. He wanted her to move. She blinked before standing. Kalim and Congee quickly sat down in her spot. She couldn't believe he had asked her to move.

She took a step away from the table, not very hungry anymore. Tye was about to turn to go when a hand came down on her should.

"Sit with me." Ian said before turning around and walking back to his table, expecting her to follow. She shrugged and did as he said, not seeing Rei's glaring eyes following them.

xXx

"These are the other students learning the Dragon Style from Talon." Ian told her when she sat down across from him. Besides her and Ian there were only four other people. The rest of the table was empty, everyone giving them their own private table. "This is Tye, the first year partner I am teaching." He told them. They nodded and went back to eating. Apparently talking wasn't something any of the dragon students liked to do, although Ian did make an effort to talk a little with her and introduce them.

"That is Jarrek. He is a third year." He said pointing to the smallest one. He was Bazhir like Ian but his hair was black and cut close to his head. His eyes were a dark brown. "This one is Tanner." He was the biggest out of all of them; not only being the tallest but also the bulkiest, with well defined muscles. She somewhat recognized him from the palace, but since he was a third year she didn't have any classes with him. He had blond hair and light brown eyes. "The last two are Neo and Carr. They are fourth years like me." They were Bazhir twins and looked identical. Same dark skin and dark black hair with the same face and body structure, but when they looked up she noticed that Neo had light blue eyes, while Carr had light green. It was the only difference she could see between them.

After that the rest of the meal was silent. Tye didn't mind this much since she wasn't very talkative herself.

"Why did you let me come sit with you?" She asked suddenly. Tye had noticed none of the other fourth years had invited their first year partners to eat with them.

"You looked upset with that boy and seemed sad." He said and shrugged. She gave him a slight smile before turning over to the table. Her eyes locked with Rei's, who had been watching her the whole time. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw that she had noticed him. Rei turned away quickly and began talking with Kalim and Congee, trying to ignore her.

Tye was confused now. He was upset with her? She sighed and shook her head. Sometimes she really did not understand boys.

xXx

At the end of lunch Gamijei made an announcement that they would be having a celebration that night for his son's tenth birthday. It would last during dinner and through their free time that night.

Everyone was excited throughout their regular subjects and hardly paid attention. The night practice didn't seem so bad that day since they had something to look forward too. Meston yelled at them several times to keep their concentration, but after a while deemed it hopeless and let them out early with the threat that the next day they would train twice as hard.

Everyone bathed and put on fresh cloths, before making their way over to where the tables were normally set up. Instead of there being rows and rows of tables, there was just one long row with food laid on it for people to take when they wanted. The rest of the street was filled with people dancing to the loud music and people talking in groups. A table was set off to the side with a large pile of presents on it.

Camric sighed next to Tye as they walked over.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I wish Esther was here." He said sadly watching everyone have fun and dance.

"Don't worry. You will be back with her soon. Plus I'm sure she is thinking of you too." He seemed to brighten at this.

"Really?" He asked and gave off a huge smile when she nodded. Deciding to make the most of it and not stay upset the whole evening, he walked off to a group of people he knew and joined the conversation.

Yani and Susan ran off to meet up with some of their third year friends and Cala and Able walked over to the food table with Rikash and Leo.

This left Tye alone until she spotted Rei leaning against one of the buildings off to the side. She walked over into his direction hoping that he was in a better mood.

"Are you upset with me?" She asked when he ignored her.

"Of course I am!" He growled out.

"Why?" She asked confused.

"Shouldn't you be off hanging around with your boyfriend or something?" He asked looking away from her.

"Ian isn't my boyfriend. He is my fourth year partner." Rei snorted loudly.

"Well you left all of us to go hang out with him instead." Her eyes narrowed. After everything he had done, he was angry with her for spending a part of lunch at another table.

"How dare you." She said, voice low and cold. "After you ignore me for days, not even speak to me when I come to you for help, and tell me to move when you finally do come back…. How dare you accuse me of leaving our friends to be with someone else?" Her eyes were narrowed and her fists clenched trying to control her anger.

His eyes softened slightly. "I didn't realize…"

"Yeah well you did." She stated simply.

"Now, now little ducky. No reason to get so mad." Said a familiar voice from behind. Her eyes widened and she swung around.

"Derek!" She gasped.

"The one and only." He said with his charming grin. Derek was tall with long black hair hung down to his shoulders. It contrasted with his pale skin and icy blue eyes. He was around twenty years of age.

"Tye who is this?" Rei asked coming to stand next to her.

"Well… I guess you could say he's my brother –in-law."

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Yay its finally done! Well I hope you enjoy. This took me forever to finish. Please review and let me know what you think.

Thanks to everyone who wrote those very nice reviews about my friend's loss. You all really are the best!


	28. Conflicts and Surprises Part 2

OK chapter 27 as promised!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

No Derek is not related to Joren. I just thought it would look nice with his dark hair, to have really light eyes. I also just want to say that I Love Joren! So no insulting him!… He should not have died….Starts reading book 'How to resurrect a fictional character'

Also good guessing Firefox!

Anywho, now that im done with my rant onto the chapter!

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"Your brother in law?" Rei questioned. "I didn't know you had any siblings." His voice showed he was a little upset at not knowing about this.

"Four in fact." Derek added in with a large grin earning himself a small glare from Tye. She had been planning on telling him about her "family" soon as well as other things soon and didn't want Derek just spilling everything before she could explain things to Rei herself.

"Yes he is… married to my oldest sister Annabel." She said carefully. "What are you doing here Derek?" She asked.

"I'm hurt Tye. I haven't seen you in years, I was expecting you to be happy to see me." He pouted playfully. Derek never did act his age. She supposed this was good for Annabel who acted too serious at times. Finally a smile broke out on his face. "Actually I am here to give a gift to Gamijei's son. He had been kind to me before I had found Annabel, so every year I come back to celebrate with him for a time. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Aren't you supposed to be…" He blinked confused for a moment before he started laughing. "They are going to be so angry when they find out." He said with a chuckle.

"Find out what?" Rei asked. He was still a little upset about not knowing anything about what they were talking about. This was when Kalim and Conji walked over. He missed the glares they had directed towards Tye as he turned towards them a moment later. "Hey guys."

"We have someone to introduce you to, do you mind if we borrow you for a few moments." Kalim said smoothly.

Rei looked back at Derek and Tye. His gaze stayed on her a moment. Rei wasn't stupid, when he had calmed down and thought about it, he realized that he had not been paying attention to his friends form Tortall, too excited about seeing people he knew from when he was a child. Tye nodded her head indicating him to go and gave him a small smile. He returned it and left with his friends.

"So you two made up then?" Derek said smiling. Tye gave him a glare, but it didn't reach her eyes and ended up smiling slightly. She never could stay made at Derek. "Is he…?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said watching Rei walk away from them. She turned back with a sigh.

"Does he know anything?" He asked getting serious.

"Not much. A little. We have been attacked a few times and I had to explain about shadows and Annadu."

"But not why they want you?"

"No, not yet." She replied.

"Have you started transforming yet?" He asked. She didn't answer, just nodded her head. "You should defiantly tell him soon then. You are going to need his protection and the sooner he knows, the safer you will be."

"I know, but…" She turned to look at Rei laughing with his friends. "He wont be able to be a normal boy anymore. He just found his friends again. I don't want him to have to give them up."

"Tye this is more important then playing around with friends."

"He will have to give up so much though. What if he doesn't want to or changes his mind?" She turned away to look out at the desert. Derek turned to look at Rei and smiled slightly when he saw him glancing over at Tye every few seconds.

"If he really is your soul mate, then he will want to be with you." Derek remembered something suddenly. "Tye I have something to tell you." She turned back to him worried at his serious tone. "Jamie died." She blinked a couple of times before it sunk in.

"He… he can't be dead. Jayna must be so upset." She had really liked Jamie. He had only met her a few times, having to stay with his soul mate, her sister Jayna, but he had been very kind to her. "How?" She asked after a moment.

"The sickness was in his lungs, there wasn't anything the healers could do."

"But soul mates can't get sick." She said.

"Because he and Jayna connected so well, they thought he was her soul mate, but apparently he wasn't. They found out when she started going through the transformations and he was not affected. He got sick shortly after that." He leaned over and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sorry I know you liked him." She sighed, fighting back the part of her that wanted to cry. "I have to go deliver this, but ill come back and say good bye alright?" She nodded and he walked away. She moved over to the side of the street, away from the festivities, and stood between two buildings, leaning against one of the walls watching everyone celebrate.

xXx

Sometimes Rei could swear he felt things coming from Tye. Like right now, this sudden sadness washed over him causing him to look up and search Tye out. He saw her standing by herself thinking. He decided to wait a few moments before heading over to see if she was ok and give her some time to her own thoughts.

xXx

Tye was so lost in thought that she didn't hear Meston walk from behind her and lean against the wall on the other side of the small alley between the two buildings.

"Everyone looks so…" He paused looking for the word.

"Happy?" Tye added in. He shook his head.

"No… distracted." Tye turned to him confused.

"Distracted?" She asked confused. She saw a small smirk on his lips, before she felt something hard hit the back of her head and her world went black.

xXx

Meston picked up the limp body and disappeared into the shadows of the Alley. Everyone else was otherwise occupied, so no one saw him disappear to his horse and take off with a large bundle behind him.

xXx

((I guess it would be evil of me to leave it there….lol))

Rei had been talking with Kalim when suddenly pain wracked his entire body. A sudden urgency filled him. He needed to get to Tye. His brain was screaming. Quickly he said goodbye and walked away from his very confused friends. It hurt so bad, he didn't know how much longer he could stand up.

He walked away from where everyone was celebrating trying to catch his breath. That's when he noticed Corm rearing up, trying to pull away from his peg. Rei shuffled over, coughing and gasping in pain. Corm seemed to calm down slightly when he saw Rei, but continued to pull on his restraint. Rei reached out to untie him. Corm knelt down when he was released, indicating to Rei to get on.

Rei hesitated a moment, remembering what he had heard about this horse and his not so nice tendencies, but finally realized that this horse may know what happened to Tye. He had not seen her in the spot between the buildings and he was growing very worried since the pain in his body only seemed to increase. He hopped on, holding tight to the mane, when Corm stood back up and took off.

Rei had been on fast horses before, but never had he been on a horse who ran this fast. It took all his strength just to hold on and not fall off. In the distance he could see a figure outlined in the dark on horseback. The pain seemed to slowly fade the closer they got to this figure. He held on tighter and watched the figure ahead as they got closer and closer.

The figure turned around when they got within a few feet, finally hearing them. Rei mentally prepared himself and prayed that this was the right person, before he flung himself off Corm and used his entire body weight to strike the figure, causing him to loose his balance and fall off, along with the bundle tied to the back.

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OK im going to leave it there! Review and let me know what you think! We are really starting to get into it now!


	29. Worth It

Hey guys sry about last week. My birthday was on the 19th and things just got really busy. So finally here is chap. 28!

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Rei hit the ground hard, the figure falling beside him. _Maybe I should have thought that out some more._ He thought to himself, muscles protesting as he stood up quickly. He quickly got into a fighting stance, yelling at himself in his mind for not thinking to grab any sort of weapon.

The figure on the ground started laughing. "That was very stupid boy." He said as he stood up. Meston smiled widely. "You can not hurt me." He said simply, not even attempting to get into a fighting stance.

"Give me back Tye." Rei said with more courage then he was feeling. This brought about more laughter from Meston.

"You are going to make me?" He chuckled some more. "Very well fight me if you wish." Rei wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Meston was definitely an experienced fighter, but it was more then that. He was almost positive that he was a shadow, and that meant the Meston had some sort of ability. Well there really was no choice. He struck out as hard as he could, catching Meston right in the gut. Pain shot through his arm. It as like hitting a stone wall. He only had time to blink as the large fist came down and connected with his cheek.

One moment he was standing and the next the ruff feel of sand was under his face. He heard more of that laughter.

"Foolish, foolish boy. You should have just let things go. Now you will suffer." Rei rolled out of the way quickly as the large booted foot came down right where his head used to be. He got to his feet quickly, mind racing trying to figure out how to get out of this situation. He had no weapons, he was up against a more experienced fight, and to top it all off he couldn't even hurt the man.

Corm kept trying to get to the bundle that had fallen onto the sand, but the other horse was keeping him from it.

Rei was starting to panic. There was nothing he could do. He dodged a few punches, only to feel the metal tipped boot hit him in the stomach. He doubled over coughing and trying to catch his breath. Another swift kick to his back and he was down on the ground again.

"You could never hurt me. That is my power. You can not cause me physical damage or hurt me with your silly man made weapons. Was she really worth your death?" He laughed bringing up his boot once more above his head.

There really was nothing else he could do. "Yes." He whispered before he closed his eyes to think of happier things.

He waited for the pain. When nothing happened he opened his eyes. The boot was still hovering over his head, but Meston was now looking up. Rei turned his head slightly in the direction he was looking. A cloaked rider sat atop a horse. Slowly the rider raised his hand until all five fingers were pointing in the direction of Meston. Swiftly, he pulled them all into a fist. At that moment, Meston gasped, before he burst into flames. Only a single scream escaped him before he burst into black dust.

The desert grew quiet once more. Rei's heart pounded in his ears as the rider came closer.

"I saw you run off and thought you might need a hand." A friendly voice said as the rider got off his horse. He dropped his hood and walked over to help Rei up. Derek looked him over quickly. "I think you'll be alright, just a little sore for a couple of days." Rei snorted. After all of the other times they had been attacked, he was starting to get used to it.

Corm was still fighting his way over to the bundle on the ground. Once the horse saw that his master was gone, he bolted. Corm took his chance and started nuzzling at the cloth.

Derek and Rei walked over, Rei hobbling a bit. They undid the rope ties and the blanket to reveal and unconscious Tye. Rei was worried for a moment when she didn't respond, but Derek saw his panic and quickly reassured him.

"He must have used some sleeping potion. She may be out for another couple hours. Why don't we get both of you back and to a healer to check you both out. I'll get the horses, you wait with her a moment." He got up and walked off.

Rei grabbed Tye's hand as soon as Derek turned around. He had been so worried he couldn't help but sigh knowing she was going to be ok.

xXx

Corm had been very upset, and refused to let anyone ride him unless Tye was also on him. In the end Derek held Tye on Corm, since Rei was still hurting pretty bad, and Rei rode on Derek's horse.

They, luckily, were able to sneak past a lot of people and not draw attention to themselves since most people were still at the party.

There was one healer on duty that night, and he started fretting as soon and Rei and Tye walked through the door. After checking out Tye to make sure she really was just asleep, he moved on to Rei. Tye was laid down on an empty bed while Rei was bandaged up. Afterwards. he was told to go to the bed beside her and rest. Derek told him that he would be back in the morning before he left.

It only took a moment, before Rei had fallen asleep, listening to the distant sounds of music from the unknowing people still celebrating on the other side of town.

xXx

It was still early when Rei opened his eyes, the sun was just rising. For a moment he panicked, thinking he had over slept, but then the memories from the night before came and he settled back down.

"Ah so you are awake." Derek said smiling. "Did you sleep well?" He asked pleasantly. Rei nodded, still somewhat asleep. He turned his head in the direction of Tye. She was still sleeping next to him.

"The healer said she should wake up any time now. She was physically tired on top of the sleeping potion, that's why its taking so long." Derek said, seeing where Rei had turned to.

"She won't tell me why they are after her." Rei said after a moment, looking back to Derek who sighed.

"Talk to her when she wakes up. I think she will now. Too many things are happening for you to stay in the dark." He looked over to her. "I think she was afraid that if she told you, you would only feel obligated to help and would want to get out of it later." Rei stiffened and Derek chuckled. "After what I heard last night, I don't think that's true." Rei looked down to hide his blush. "I was hoping that she would wake up before I had to leave, but if I am to get back to Annabel in time then I should leave now." He sighed and stood up. "I have a feeling we will be seeing each other fairly soon." They said their farewells and Derek went to the front of the tent. He paused before leaving. "She's been through a lot. Don't be too hard on her for not telling you. Trust is never an easy thing to give." With a nod he walked out, leaving Rei to think about what he had said.

xXx

It wasn't too much later before Tye opened her eyes slowly. She was a little confused and unsure of where she was. She sat up slowly and looked around.

"Welcome back." A voice said softly beside her. She turned to see Rei smiling slightly at her. "I think we have a conversation long over due." He told her. Seeing the bruises on his face and the way he held his stomach as if in pain, she could only nod her head. Something must have happened the night before and this time she wasn't there to help him. Now was definitely the time for their talk.

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I kno I kno this is a little shorter then normal, but things are getting pretty busy with college. Next week ill have it back to normal length. Review and let me know what you think!


	30. Secrets Revealed part 1

OK good news everyone my friend agreed to be my beta, so hopefully the number of little mistakes, like grammar and such, decrease greatly. Let us all thank Fauna Greywolf!

Sorry I had to take a break for a while. I had midterms these last two weeks. I still have more, but I'm done with most of them.

I sent this out yesterday, but it didnt send an alert so im re-sending it.

Alrighty now onto the chapter!

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Talking is something most people in the world can do, yet sometimes it can be the hardest. How are you supposed to tell someone that because of you, their whole life will change? That because you are what you are, they will be put in more life or death situations then most other people. _Maybe it would be better to start off with something a little lighter_, Tye thought. Lucky for them, it was during the day, so everyone was busy; either at work, for the villagers, or in classes, for the pages. A healer would come in every once in a while to check on them, but since they weren't severely hurt, he was needed elsewhere.

"Well remember how I talked to you before about Annadu; how they are a group of dark warriors, who control shadows." Rei nodded. It was the only thing she had told him about so far. "As I have said before, they have been around for thousands and thousands of years. Most of the time they don't cause much trouble, nothing that a group called the Tirivara can't handle on their own. Tirivara roughly translated is 'light protectors.' They have been around for just as long as Annadu and they are the ones who fight and protect people from them. Most people don't know about them, just like most people don't know about Annadu. This works out well for them. Their identities can be kept secret, which is good since they also lead normal lives. Only those in the high council have to be kept hidden and protected at all times." She paused letting him take it all in. They had a lot to get through and she didn't want him to feel too over whelmed.

"Ok so basically, Annadu bad, Tirivara good and they have been fighting for thousands of years." She gave a small smile and nodded. "So far not bad. I still don't see how this has anything to do with you. Are you related to someone in Tirivara?" He asked.

"Not exactly." She said. "I'll come back to Tirivara in a minute, but we have to talk about something else before we do. Now you remember the prophecy in class that is about the sisters?" He thought for a minute.

"Well I am in a different class but I do remember them mentioning it last year. It was some sort of poem right?" Tye nodded.

"_Earth, Wind, Water, Fire_

_Come together in this dire hour_

_Bring for the power locked within_

_So the world's salvation will begin_

_To balance the power a fifth sister there shall be_

_To bring the darkness to its knees_

_Hidden from view, yet visible to all_

_Along with the sisters, she will cause the darkness to fall."_

When Tye spoke it was slightly whispered. "As you know there are five sisters. One with the powers of earth and the immortal blood of the spidren. One with the powers of air and the immortal blood of a griffon. Another with the powers of fire and the immortal blood of a phoenix. Lastly, one with the powers of water and the immortal blood of a mer-creature. Now to keep each one of the sisters balanced there is a fifth sister, with each of the elemental powers. She has the immortal blood of a dragon. Since there are several different kinds of dragons, it is assumed that she has one general form that is used most of the time and a different form for each element she is concentrating on." She paused and let this new information sink in.

"What does this have to do with the Tirivara?" He asked.

"I'll get to that." She said. "We were also taught about how their purpose is to fight a darkness. In class they said that this darkness does not have a name, but it does. It is the Annadu."

This is where things started getting hard. There was no turning back after this.

"But I thought you said that the Tirivara are the ones who fought the Annadu." He stated.

"That is true for the most part. Every couple hundred years the Annadu become too powerful for the Tirivara. No one is exactly sure why this is. It might be a ceremony they can only perform at certain times and years. This why there are the sisters. Whenever this time come when the Annadu get too powerful, their spirits are re-born. It is the job of the Tirivara to find them and train them until the they have the final conflict with the Annadu and stop them from taking over the land." He didn't seem to be having a problem with this so far. Probably because a lot of the time prophecies that were once thought to be pure folly, turned out to be true. "The Tirivara are also supposed to keep each sister safe, since if they are killed before they reach their full powers, they will have little resistance to them taking over. That is why they have shadows. The Annadu are rumored to be fearsome creatures, but their shadows look human and can search for the sisters without drawing attention to themselves. They let the weaker ones go back and search, while the stronger ones stay behind and guard them while they are still gathering their strength."

"Ok so they send their shadows out to find the sisters, I still don't see why…" memories of all the encounters they had with shadows before flew through his mind.

"_You could never have outrun me, little dragon."_

That was what the first shadow had said to her the night of the homecoming dance. He didn't think much of it at the time, but now.

"Wait a minute are you trying to tell me that you… you are…"

She sat up and put her legs over the side of the bed. The floor was warm under her toes. "I am one of the sisters from the prophecy. The fifth sister. The dragon."

It took Rei a minute to process this in his mind, and then did the first thing he could think of in this situation. He bolted.

xXx

Tye had expected something along the lines of him running away to happen, so she wasn't too surprised when he ran out of the tent, not even bothering to put his shoes on.

She lay back down on the pillows. This was the first time she had come out and told someone what she was. She sighed deeply. There was still more to tell him. So much he still didn't understand, but he needed time to adjust to this before they could go any further. Tye closed her eyes. _Might as well get some rest_, She told herself, _It's only going to get harder from now on._

xXx

Once midterms are all done with Ill be able to spend more time on the story and give you longer chapters, but finally you all have your answers! Hope you all liked it! Let me know what you think please!


	31. Private Talks and Soulmates: SR part2

OMG I just finished Terrier! It was so good!

Anyone else read it?

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Maybe running out of the tent hadn't been his best idea. For one thing, Rei was still a little sore, and running wasn't helping in the least. Another thing, it didn't solve much. It was just a lot to take in all at once. The girl he had become so strongly attached to in the last couple of months turns out not to even be human! Well maybe she was human, he wasn't exactly sure what she was, but she wasn't the normal girl he thought she was.

Everyone else was in classes now, so at least it wasn't too hard to avoid anyone he knew. He quickly slipped in between two buildings and zigzagged through the alleyways until he was at the edge of town. There he leaned against the side of a wall and looked out into the desert. It was his favorite spot to go to think when he was younger and visited Ostar with his family, back when his Mother was still speaking. There had been an accident a few years back. Bandits had attacked there house. She had been thrown down the steps and knocked out before his father had been able to come with several others to fight them off. He didn't know if it was the fall or the fact she had lost her un-born child that made her stop speaking. Either way things had been very different in his family after that.

He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice someone had walked over to him until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Rei started and quickly looked up only to be met by icy blue eyes that belonged to only one person he knew.

"Hello Ian." Rei said standing up straight again.

"Greetings Rei. I did not know other people came to this spot besides myself." Ian said, leaning himself against the wall that Rei had been a few moments before. While Rei knew Ian, they had never really talked before. "I am sorry if I interrupted your thoughts, I just wanted to come over and ask how Tye was doing. We are supposed to have our training later." He said. Rei must have made a face because Ian chuckled. "You are worried that I will steal her attention away from you?" He commented, not really asking, but stating. It was true. Rei was slightly worried that Tye would end up liking Ian in that way. They were so much alike. Both quiet, both strong. Plus now they were spending a lot of time together. "You have nothing to fear. She likes you, I can tell about these things." Ian said and nodded.

"How do you know?" Rei asked after a moment, letting himself calm down and lean back against the wall.

"A woman does not get angered so much over a man she does not have feelings for." He stated simply. Rei had to laugh a little at that. It only lasted a moment before he frowned.

"Doesn't matter. I really messed up this time." Rei said and sighed. "She finally trusted me enough to tell me something and I bolted." He had been the one to ask her for the truth and what did he do once he finally got it? He ran away. Rei sighed again frustrated with himself.

"It is because she is different isn't it?" Ian asked after a moment. Rei's head shot up. Had Tye told Ian before she had told him? Did that mean she trusted him more. She had known Ian for only a week or so. She had known him for a lot longer then that. Ian must have figured out what he was thinking. "She hasn't said anything to me if that is what you are wondering. There is magic in my family. Although I do not have it strongly, sometimes I am able to well… feel people I guess. She just felt different then most people do. Stronger perhaps. An entirely different presence."

"Did you notice this right away?" Ian nodded. "And you don't mind?" He shook his head sending dark curls tumbling across his forehead.

"I do not judge those by what they are, only what they have done and will do." Ian said to him finally turning to look him in the eye once more. "What ever it is that makes her different, does not change who she is; the girl that has changed your whole perception of things. Think about how you were before you met her." Rei had to admit, he was a completely different person. Before he was a spoiled little boy who thought women were below him. It was how he had been raised. But then she came along and he seemed to change so quickly.

"I guess you are right." Rei said standing up once more.

"Go to her. You will make amends." Ian said confidently. Rei nodded and turned to leave.

"You're not what I thought you would be." Rei stated.

"I hope that is a good thing." Rei smirked and nodded before disappearing between the two buildings had had come through before.

Ian just smiled and sunk down, just sitting and looking at the desert surrounding him.

xXx

He had only been gone a half hour when he returned to the medical tent. Tye was standing up putting on her shoes.

"Walk with me." He said when she finally spotted him. Her eyes widened in surprise. She had not expected him to come back t her for a while.

Once they were out of the tent and away from the healers inside Rei immediately said, "I'm sorry." They kept walking towards their tents. They would have privacy there since the others were in classes. They were excused from academic classes that day, although they had been told it would be a good idea to do light training exercises so they did not miss some of the training the others were receiving.

Neither one spoke until they were back in their group's tent. They decided to go to the girl's side, since it was less likely someone would walk in on them there.

"I handled things badly before" Rei said once they sat down on her pallet. "It was just a well… huge shock to say the least. I mean you look so normal." Tye flinched. "No wait that's not what I mean. It's just that…. Oh…" He sighed giving up. He hoped he didn't just mess things up again.

"I understand" She finally said. "I didn't expect you to have a good reaction at the start. Although I have to say you surprised me by how quickly you came back."

"You have Ian to thank for that." Rei said and smirked. She looked at him curiously before he answered. "He just helped me sort my thoughts is all." She nodded. Ian was a good person to talk to. He may not like to talk a lot, but he knew what to say when someone needed help.

"I am sorry that I put telling you off for so long. I didn't want to involve you. This will change your whole life, and I guess I was a little scared that you would regret it later." She admitted to him. He held her gaze.

"You never have to worry about that." He said firmly. She could see how strongly he felt about this and for a moment she forgot why she had ever doubted him.

"But there is more. More that really affects you." She said.

"Does it have to do with me being able to feel when you are in trouble?" He asked.

"Yes. That and many other things that are about to happen to you." She began. He mentally prepared himself for anything so that this time he did not run away. "Do you remember the story that the girls had been talking about on the way up?" She asked.

"You mean the soul mates one?" That's when it clicked. He remembered Cala's words exactly at that moment…

"_It says here that the Goddess looked down upon the five sisters who grew up lonely and surrounded by violence. She felt sorry for them and shed a single tear for each one. As they fell towards earth, each tear hit a pregnant woman. From that tear a soul mate was born. Each soul mate would have a sister they were to love and protect as the sister grew up and started to learn to control the powers that she possesses. It is said every time the sisters are reincarnated to fight the darkness that their soul mates are reborn as well and that each soul mate will search the earth until they find the sister to whom they belong."_

"So that means I'm…. that I'm… your soul mate." He was only thirteen and he already had a soul mate. Tye looked nervous and fidgeted while he had a small panic attack in his mind.

"Yes my love and protector, the dragon soul mate." She stated looking away.

"Oh." Rei had to fight the urge to faint right there. For one thing is wasn't very manly and another, he had already run out the first time she told him something and opened up, what would she do if he fainted the next time? "So what does that mean for me? And for you?"

"While I am still… developing, you will stay by my side and protect me from shadows who attack. Now that you are aware of your role, we can start strengthening our bond." His eyes widened at that and he blushed. She snorted. "Not like that." She said and sighed. "boys….. only one thought on their minds." He had to grin a little at that. "No magically and spiritually. The more in tuned we are, the better we can fight together and know when the other is in trouble. Once we start this you will begin to notice some changes. You will be stronger and faster. Those will be the firsts. We will deal with the others later. Don't worry, they won't be physical changes. You are not going to grow a snout and breathe fire." She said and he laughed a bit.

She stood up and walked over to the small chest she had brought with her. She placed a hand over the top and it clicked open. After digging around a moment, she brought out a thin gold chain with a small pendant on it.

"This is your talisman, it will help you focus your energy to make the bonding process easier." He took it and looked it over. Before he put it around his neck she stopped him. Locking eyes she stayed silent a moment. Finally she spoke. "Once you put this one, there is no going back."

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OK done! Let me know what you think. Sorry if there are a lot of mistakes in here, I didn't want to wait to get it edited. If there are a lot ill ask my friend to a repost a better copy. Well enjoy!


	32. Pretty Good Day

OK sorry for the long wait everyone. These last couple of weeks have been so busy since it is getting close to the end of the semester. You wouldn't believe how many final projects and exams I have had to do….ick

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"_Once you put this on, there is no going back."_

Rei barely even spared this sentence a thought as he grabbed the talisman and threw it over his head. He was tired of not being strong enough, of always having to be protected by Tye whenever a shadow came and attacked.

Suddenly he felt very strange. A feeling of fullness... no completeness washed over him. He took a couple of deep breaths and looked up at Tye. It was too much feeling all at once. He got the urge to be closer to her and went with it and he grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him, hugging her. This seemed to help. His breathing slowed back down to normal and things, didn't feel to overwhelming anymore. When the feeling finally went away, he noticed what he had just done and that he was still holding her. Blushing all the way to his ears he let his arms loosen and he leaned back slightly about to stutter out an apology. She just smiled before he could say anything.

"It's alright. When you first put it on it can be a little overwhelming. If you hadn't just grabbed it and shoved it over your head before I could finish you would have known that." She said and laughed slightly. "Besides," She said looking anywhere but at him. "we are soul mates. You are allowed to hug me sometimes."

Rei didn't think he could have blushed anymore after the hug, but at her words he felt it deepen more. She met his eyes after a moment a bit her lip, slightly embarrassed.

Of course the girls decided to return to the tent at that exact moment. Rei and Tye quickly turned when they heard a gasp. Cala, Able, Susan and Yani were standing in the doorway, slightly gaping at the couple. Tye and Rei noticed that they were still standing very close to one another and quickly took a few steps away. Rei stuttered something out, he couldn't even remember what he had said later on in the day, and quickly left the girls room.

It was Tye's turn to blush when she saw the looks the other girls were giving her. Susan and Yani giggled to themselves as they went to change into their training cloths. Able and Cala walked over smirking.

"We had heard you had left the medical tent." Cala said pulling out her cloths.

"So we figured you would be here getting ready for afternoon practice since we just finished our academic classes." Able said doing the same.

"But instead we find you looking pretty cozy with Rei." Cala said with a wink pulling on her shoes. Able laughed lightly.

"It wasn't like that." Tye said changing as well. She knew that if she wanted to she could not go to practice, but seeing as she was feeling fine now, she really saw no point in avoiding it. She would just pay for it tomorrow. "If you hadn't noticed we had gotten into a small argument. We just talked things out is all." She explained simply.

"Oh good, we had noticed that you two weren't hanging out as much." Able said. "Hurry we are going to be late!" She yelled before darting out the door after Susan and Yani who had already left. Cala waited and walked with Tye to the training grounds.

"I'm glade you two worked things out." Cala said squeezing her shoulder before going to where she needed to be.

"Me too." Tye said quietly after she left.

xXx

Ian and Tye practiced in their normal spot. After going through the warm up exercises and stretches, he had her concentrate on more difficult moves. She couldn't help but smile a little while she worked. Rei was in a good mood and it seemed to be coming at her in waves now that they were starting to become connected. She couldn't help but let it affect her a little.

"Stop." Ian called to her after she finished a particularly hard move. He didn't speak for a moment. Tye had gotten used to his few moments of silence before speaking. Ian seemed to like to think about what he was going to say before he said it. "You seem happier today." He noted. "You and your friend Rei have made up then?" She nodded.

"Thanks for helping him out before." She said wiping some sweat from her forehead.

"I did nothing, just told him what he already knew." He told her. She gave him a small smile and nodded. He gave a slight nod in return before clearing his voice. "Let's continue."

xXx

After a quick bath and a change, Tye hurried on to dinner. She swerved in between chairs and tables working her way through the crowd, before catching Ian's eye. He pointed to an empty chair at his table and she quickly took it.

She had just started to eat when someone tapped her shoulder from behind. Turning around, she was surprised to find Rei holding a plate of food. He gave her a small smirk before turning to Ian across from her.

"Mind if I join?" He asked.

"Not at all." Ian said indicating the chair next to Tye. Rei set his plate down before taking a seat. One he was seated he turned to Tye who was looking at him. They shared a small smile before turning and eating, Rei joining into the conversation with the rest of the people at the table.

Tye couldn't help but think that this turned out to be a pretty good day and she had not had one of those in a while.

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Ok sorry for the shortness again. I have the last of my finals next week and then I have winter break!!! I promise I will get a lot of chapter out that are longer during this time. I just really have been so busy and I felt really bad about not being able to submit a new chapter in so long.

Well I hope you enjoy!


	33. Training Day

Ok not sure what happened. Had a bit of writers block for some reason and between work and school I am just so busy. But I am back now and ready to continue on! And I really will do my best from now on to set aside time to update.

Oh and you can thank Risi-Chan for yellin at me…lol jk

p.s. I know that it has been a while since I talked about the other dragons so I am posting the paragraph where I explained them again…

"That is Jarrek. He is a third year." He said pointing to the smallest one. He was Bazhir like Ian but his hair was black and cut close to his head. His eyes were a dark brown. "This one is Tanner." He was the biggest out of all of them; not only being the tallest but also the bulkiest, with well defined muscles. She somewhat recognized him from the palace, but since he was a third year she didn't have any classes with him. He had blond hair and light brown eyes. "The last two are Neo and Carr. They are fourth years like me." They were Bazhir twins and looked identical. Same dark skin and dark black hair with the same face and body structure, but when they looked up she noticed that Neo had light blue eyes, while Carr had light green. It was the only difference she could see between them.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Things continued on normally, well as normal as things had been before. Tye and Rei went to classes and training when they were supposed to and alternated between eating with the dragons and their Tortall friends. Tye was surprised to find how well Rei got along with all the other dragons even though he was not in their training group. Although she really couldn't be too surprised, they all had similar personalities after all. All of them were quiet and thoughtful. She did notice, however, that she was describing herself as well with those characteristics. Maybe that was why they all got along so well. Plus, Tye and Rei thought it was a bit ironic that they were called the dragons, with Tye being the dragon sister and all.

Somehow they had gotten into the habit of spending their free time together after dinner, with the dragons showing them different moves and practicing with them. It was during one of these practices that Tye learned that Rei had been under consideration by Talon to join the dragons, but was not allowed to.

"It is tradition in my family for every male to master the fighting style of the Ox." Rei made a face while he explained. "There are no moves really, just pure strength and power being focused into punches and kicks. You can easily tell who is in my group, they are usually the most muscular of all of them."

"That doesn't sound like it would be good for you at all." Tye commented. While Rei was not a weakling, he was more lean then muscular, making him rely more on his swiftness then his strength. "You should tell your father that the dragon style is better suited for you." She told him. With the dragon style you combined strength and speed, something that would be perfect for Rei. Rei just smiled and shook his head.

"You don't know my father."

The conversation ended at that and they continued practicing with the rest.

xXx

It was hard for Rei at first. Suddenly he was stronger and faster then he was before. He had to keep himself in check during practices so that he didn't draw unwanted attention to himself.

"How do you do it?" He asked one night when they were taking a break by themselves during free time. The other dragons were practicing a little ways away, so they could pretty much talk in private.

"Do what?" She asked turning away from watching the others to look at him.

"Hold back all the time." He said. "I'm just starting to come into all of this and already it is getting hard. I just have all of this power and energy now and I can't use it. It's getting hard to contain it." Tye was thoughtful for a moment.

"I remember when Derek first joined us. He would always talk about having too much energy and go off to fight one of our trainers. I think that while your body is adapting to this sudden increase in power, you will have excess energy that you can't contain yet and needs some way to get out. That is probably why you haven't been able to sit still." She finished amused. Rei noticed his tapping foot and drumming fingers and quickly stopped. Tye smiled and little before standing up. "Come with me." She said and started walking off.

"Where are we going?" Rei asked as he got up and followed her.

"You will see." Was all she said. They walked in silence for a while. It was dark, but Rei found that he had an easier time seeing in the dark then he did before. Soon, they arrived at the place when she and Ian held their practices. "This is where Ian takes me during our practice sessions together. He likes it because it is still close to the village, but no one can see you." Tye told him walking a few feet from him.

"But why are we here?" He asked. Even though he could see better in the dark, didn't mean that he liked being in the middle of the desert in it.

"I want you to come and attack me." She said with a smile.

Rei blinked a few times.

"Excuse me?"

"I want you to come and attack me. Alright?" She said getting into a fighting stance.

"No not alright. Why would I come and attack you?" He asked looking very confused.

"This is the perfect way for you to let out some of your excess energy, without having to worry about holding back." She told him maintaining her stance.

"But.." he said thinking about it.

"But nothing, just come on already. We don't have much longer for break before we have to head back." She said.

"But.. I don't want to hurt you." He mumbled.

"Ha." She said loudly. He head flew up to face her. "You wouldn't even land a single hit on me." She said with a smirk. "Remember, I have been holding back all of those other times you have seen me at practices. You have no idea what I am truly capable of." If asking him to attack her wouldn't work, then mocking him into doing it might.

His eyes narrowed.

"Very well." He got into a stance before charging at her. Both smirked and thought the same thing.

_I am definitely going to beat him/her._

xXx

At first it had taken Rei a few minutes to get used to his new found strength and speed. Tye took it slow in the beginning, but made it a little more challenging as the fight went on. He couldn't help but notice she seemed to be teaching him at the same time. Without words, she showed him the correct way to move. It seemed more like a dance to Rei. Each move led into the next smoothly. Soon they fell into a pattern of strikes and blocks. He realized it was true. He really had never seen how good she was. Rei couldn't help but pause and think. _She is amazing._

Of course Tye took advantage of him being distracted and soon Rei found himself on his back in the sand. Both were panting and slightly out of breath. Suddenly Rei started laughing and Tye followed along, taking a seat behind him.

"That was pretty good for your first time really using your abilities." She commented when things quieted back down.

"Maybe now I won't get knocked unconscious every time we get attacked from now on." Rei commented with a small smile. Tye had to laugh a bit at that. He really did seem to get knocked out every time they were attacked.

"And you will only get stronger. Actually we both will. Now that I have found you, I …"

She was cut off by the voices of the others calling them in. She shook her head and stood up.

"We can talk more later." Rei yawned as he lifted himself up. "You better get some rest." She said with a small smile. He nodded in agreement and followed her back to their tents.

Neither one noticed Ian coming out from behind the tree that marked his favorite training spot. Nor did they notice the curious expression that graced his normally calm face.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

OK I know it is a little short, but I wanted to get something out quickly so that you guys didn't think I was giving up on this fic. Well I hope you all enjoyed this. Review and elt me know what you think.

Don't worry I will update again soon.


	34. quick note

Hey everyone. I know it has been a while since I have updated. It was my first year at college and things were really busy. Now that I am on summer break I plan on starting up again with frequent updates. I just need to get myself back on track with the story so expect this to be replaced with a chapter by this weekend at the latest


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